The Ballance Board of Directors comprises eight elected directors and two appointed directors. Click on the list below to see expanded profiles of each of the Ballance directors.
David Graham has been Chairman of the Ballance Board of Directors since 2003.
A chartered accountant by trade, he retired from his Putaruru-based practice in March 2009.
He and his wife reside at their 350 ha dairy farm at Waotu, near Putaruru, and also have an interest in farms in Tokoroa and Riversdale.
Mr Graham is Chairman of the New Zealand Fertiliser Manufacturers Research Association.
A member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Directors, Mr Graham has a Bachelor of Commerce and a chartered accountants qualification.
David Pilkington is the Chairman of Prevar Limited, Ruapehu Alpine Lifts and Heller Limited, and a director of a number of other companies, including Zespri International, Restaurant Brands, Douglas Pharmacueticals, Rangatira Limited and Port of Tauranga.
Mr Pilkington has significant experience in the dairy industry, having held a number of senior positions at Fonterra, New Zealand Milk Limited and the New Zealand Dairy Board. At the latter organisation his roles included Chief Executive Officer of the Board’s North American regional holding company, and President of NZMP Japan.
First appointed to the Ballance Board in 2004, Mr Pilkington has a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical), plus a Diploma in Dairy Science and Technology.
David Peacocke is based in Raglan and has interests in several large farming operations, both in the Waikato and the South Island. His business interests are diversified, and encompass the beef, sheep, dairy, forestry, poultry and property sectors.
Mr Peacocke is a director of a number of companies in the rural sector, including Taupiri Holdings Limited, Melrose Limited and Tuatahi Farming Limited.
He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture) from Lincoln College and in 2004 was the Supreme Winner of the Ballance Farm Environment Awards for the Waikato region.
Oliver Saxton runs Lakelands, a 580 ha mixed farm in the North Waikato and also has dairy farming interests in the South Island.
As well as practical farming knowledge, Mr Saxton brings significant commercial experience to the Ballance board. He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture)from Lincoln College and has worked in the banking sector, and in the field of commercial property management and development. He is also a fully accredited member of the Institute of Directors.
Mr Saxton was the Supreme Award winner of the Waikato Farm Environment Award in 1997, and also won the Nutrient Management Award. In 2001 he completed the Kellogg’s Rural Leadership Management Course.
Gray Baldwin is based on a 410-cow dairy farm in Putaruru and also has family trust interests in two other farms milking 750 cows and in a forestry block.
With a career background in rural banking and fertiliser, Mr Baldwin was employed by Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd from 2000 to 2007 in various senior management roles. He was the chief executive of Summit Quinphos during 2007 and 2008.
Mr Baldwin holds a range of qualifications including a Masters in Agricultural Science (Animal Science), a Diploma in Business Administration (Marketing), and a Certificate in Sustainable Nutrient Management. He has also completed the Senior Executive Programme at the London Business School. He is the General Manager of Dairy Operations for Carter Holt Harvey Properties Limited, overseeing 5000 ha in Tokoroa, and serves as a director of the charitable company Trinity Lands Limited.
In 2009 Mr Baldwin, along with his wife and sharemilkers, was the Supreme Winner of the Ballance Farm Environment Awards for the Waikato region.
David Hurst has significant experience as a director, having been involved in this capacity with various dairy companies for some thirty years.
Papamoa-based Mr Hurst has three dairy units and is also involved with two family dairy units. In 1984 he was the recipient of a Nuffield Scholarship, which allowed him to study large-scale farming and business management in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Dean Nikora runs a 1600-cow dairy property in the central Hawke’s Bay and has interests in other operations within the North Island.
An experienced participant in industry matters, in 2002 Mr Nikora was a scholar on the Kellogg Primary Industry Rural Leadership Programme at Lincoln University. In 2008 he was awarded the Maori Excellence in Farming Ahuwhenua Trophy, and in the same year he was also voted fifth on the agriculture list of the New Zealand Listener ‘Power People of 2008’.
Mr Nikora is a former representative of the Fonterra Shareholders Council and a former director of the Hawke’s Bay Primary Health Organisation. He is currently a Director of AsureQuality and a trustee of Agmardt, and Taipahi A1 Maori land administered by The Maori Trustee.
Andrew Morrison is based in the Waikaka Valley in Gore, and in partnership with his family he farms a 620 ha sheep station in Southland and a 600 ha sheep, beef and deer operation in South Otago.
He is currently the Federated Farmers Southland Provincial Vice President (joint) and Federated Farmers Southland Meat and Fibre Chairman. He is also a member of the Pukerau/Waikaka Valley Parish Property Committee and the Morrison Family Partnership Board.
With more than two decades of farming experience, Mr Morrison also brings a wider perspective of the farming sector to the Board through his various involvements with Federated Farmers, supported by a Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture).
Murray Taggart farms a 407 ha irrigated, mixed sheep and cropping property near Oxford, North Canterbury.
Mr Taggart brings considerable experience to the Board, currently serving as a director of Alliance Group, CRT Society Limited, Selwyn Investment Holdings, and Southern Farms (New Zealand) Limited.
He is a past Chairman of the National Meat and Wool Council and Federated Farmers, and past Member of the National Board of Federated Farmers. He was previously employed in the banking sector, holding roles in credit and corporate banking.
In 1996 Mr Taggart was the recipient of a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, and in 2006 he won the Tasman Region FMG Rural Excellence Award. He holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science.
