A2 Milk appoints New Zealand dealmaker as new chair

Infant formula maker A2 Milk has chosen board director and corporate law specialist Pip Greenwood to replace the company’s current chairman David Hearn when he steps down in 12 months.

Hearn served on the $4.5 billion company’s board of directors for eight years and will retire at the company’s next annual general meeting in November 2023.

A2 Milk chairman David Hearn will step down after serving on the company’s board for nine years.Credit: Peter Meecham

At the dual-listed company’s 2022 annual meeting in Auckland on Friday, Hearn acknowledged A2 had seen some “turbulent times” recently.

“It is an extraordinary experience to play a part in the development of this amazing business through good times and bad,” he said.

Pip Greenwood has served on A2 Milk’s board for three years. She is currently the chair of Westpac New Zealand and also serves on the board of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.

Dealmaker Pip Greenwood is one of only two Kiwi-based directors on a2 Milk’s board. Credit: Peter Meecham

Greenwood began her career as a solicitor in London and New York and was made partner at New Zealand law firms Buddle Findlay and Russell McVeagh, before stepping down in early 2019 to focus on board director roles full-time.

Her areas of expertise are corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and takeovers. She has been named New Zealand dealmaker of the year five times.

A2 Milk chief executive David Bortolussi also revealed a cautiously bullish outlook for the current financial year at the annual meeting, stating that underlying business performance was “on track and broadly consistent with guidance” while acknowledging currency volatility.

“Full year reported revenue is likely to increase to low double-digit growth compared to previous guidance of high single-digit growth,” Bortolussi said. However, growth from the first half of 2023 was expected to be “significantly higher” than the second half.

Investors appeared unimpressed by the outlook and board change, not so much disappointed with the chair transition but hoping for a sign of higher profits. On Australia’s bourse, A2 Milk’s share price finished Friday’s session in the red.

“When it all washes through, the update is in line with market expectations. But some out there were thinking there might be an [earnings] upgrade,” Wilson Asset Management senior investment analyst Shaun Weick said.

A2 Milk’s share price closed 3.3 per cent lower to $5.95.

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