René Dedoncker joined Fonterra 18 years ago, beginning in food service and bringing skills in international trade to lead a team, growing and connecting chef’s from across the world to innovate products, solve problems and better utilize dairy in their restaurants. But in 2016 he moved into the Managing Director role for the Australian business, just after the decision was made to step down the milk price, with complexities and consequences he didn’t fully grasp at the time.

Since then he has been working alongside his leadership team  to rebuild the business, knowing nothing was going to change the impacts or memories felt by farmers at the time, but if he could remain consistent, build confidence then maybe trust would follow. In today’s chat he shares how he began to rebuild the business, gain confidence from the New Zealand board, innovate for the future and their plans to grow 2-3% yearly.

In the spirit of reconciliation we would like to acknowlegde the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

If you know someone who you think would be great on the podcast, or you would like to share your story, please get in touch by sending an email to podcast.morethanmilk@gmail.com or stay connected by following us on Instagram or Facebook and send us a message - I'd love to hear from you.