Lobby group names new leader

Mike Siermans is the new chief executive of Federated Farmers, formally succeeding Terry Copeland who left the role last spring.

President Wayne Langford says Siermans brings extensive senior leadership and commercial experience that set him apart from other candidates.

"This is a significant appointment for Federated Farmers. We conducted a significant search for the right person, with many strong candidates having the experience and qualities we are looking for in a CEO," Langford says.

Before joining Federated Farmers, Siermans built a commercial career across fast-moving consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, and technology.

He held senior sales and marketing roles at Douglas Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Animal Health, and most recently at Taura Natural Ingredients.

He sees his broad commercial experience as central to his role at Federated Farmers.

"Federated Farmers is a very special organisation that’s played a major role in New Zealand’s history over the last 125 years," Siermans says.

"My job as CEO is to make sure we’ve got the right strategy, team and culture that’s going to set us up to succeed for the next 125 years.

"That means we’ll continue to modernise the organisation, with a real focus on creating sustainable revenue streams and finding new ways to grow our products and services.

"I want to make sure Federated Farmers has the resources to keep employing the best advocates, communicators and policy experts, so we can deliver real results for Kiwi farmers."

Siermans has been acting as interim CEO since September.

Wayne Langford says his experience in sales, marketing and corporate management will be a huge asset for our organisation.

"He understands that strong advocacy needs to be backed by sharp commercial nous."

He’s looking forward to working with Siermans and his team to make sure Federated Farmers is a well-oiled, modern machine set up to deliver outcomes for farmers.

"Federated Farmers is sitting in a really strong position. We’ve got a clear vision, a strong strategy, and an exceptionally talented team helping to deliver it.

"The organisation’s results speak for themselves, with clear messaging, a long list of major policy wins, and a membership base growing for the first time in a generation."