His salary makes him one of the top paid executives in New Zealand.
Fonterra’s chief executive Theo Spierings ran into trouble again last year when his salary was revealed in annual reports after he had to lay off hundreds of staff, stuff.co.nz reported.
Mr Spierings had also received a pay rise of up to 18 per cent, but froze his own base salary after outrage from farmers.
But he may still receive short and long-term bonus payments.
At the time, Federated Farmers dairy vice chairman Chris Lewis questioned the timing of Mr Spierings’ salary freeze after he announced more than 700 job losses last year.
‘You would have thought these conversations may have been had a few months ago, realising the sensitivity of the staff layoffs, low payout, and all of that,’ Mr Lewis told stuff.co.nz.
‘If he’s worth every bit of that, farmers will not complain.’
Earlier this month, Fonterra announced it would be reducing its price paid for milk from 55 cents per litres to 15 cents per litre.
This means the price of milk solids dropped from $5.60 to $5 per kilogram.
Mr Spierings said the move was to give its New Zealand shareholders the best return on their investment.
Mr Spierings’ frank explanation for why Australian farmers were coping a hit was met with criticism.
‘What we are doing is drive [sic] every cent of money which we can out of Australia back to New Zealand shareholders in this extremely low milk price environment,’ he said, according to The Weekly Times.
‘That is what we are doing everyday. And Australian business this year will be at a plus.’
Earlier this month, Fonterra announced it would be reducing its price paid for milk from 55 cents per litres to 15 cents per litre.
This means the price of milk solids dropped from $5.60 to $5 per kilogram.
Mr Spierings said the move was to give its New Zealand shareholders the best return on their investment.
Mr Spierings’ frank explanation for why Australian farmers were coping a hit was met with criticism.
‘What we are doing is drive [sic] every cent of money which we can out of Australia back to New Zealand shareholders in this extremely low milk price environment,’ he said, according to The Weekly Times.
‘That is what we are doing everyday. And Australian business this year will be at a plus.’
The Dutch-born Glasgow University Master’s graduate made the move to New Zealand with his wife and three children.
He also started up his own company in the Netherlands that focussed on corporate strategies for consumer goods.
Mr Spierings, who towers at 1.96 metres, started navigating the industry in his early 20s after a stint as a rugby player at university.
He now favours sailing with his office at Fonterra headquarters in Auckland.
Source: DailyMail