McBride will replace current Fonterra chairman, John Monaghan, when he retires as a director of the co-op at its annual meeting in November.

Monaghan said that the early announcement of McBride as chairman-elect was part of the board’s commitment to planned governance succession.

McBride was a current farmer director. H said he was humbled to be selected by his fellow directors, and was looking forward to leading the co-op.

“I grew up on a dairy farm near Te Aroha and today my wife Linda and I run the family farm milking 950 cows in the South Waikato, so dairy has always been part of my life.

“I’m looking forward to working alongside John for the next few months before leading our Co-op into its next phase and creating value for the benefit of our farmer owners and unit holders.”

McBride is a former chairman of kiwifruit exporter Zespri, and was named the Deloitte Top 200 2018 New Zealand chairperson of the year.

He is also the chief executive of Trinity Lands, a farm-focused charitable business in the Waikato.

McBride is the grandson of Lichfield Lands and Longview Trust founder Robert Auld.

Monaghan announced his departure from Fonterra at the end of his three-year term in March.

The Wairarapa dairy farmer held a long serving governance role at Fonterra, and took over the leadership of the co-operative after former chairman John Wilson stepped down due to ill health.

Monaghan was regarded as a “back to basics” leader, taking over just after the dairy giant reported its first ever loss of $196 million. Last year that figure blew out to $605m.

When Monaghan’s retirement was announced, ANZ agriculture economist Susan Kilsby said he had improved the board culture and helped provide a more cohesive direction for the organisation.

“He also contributed to turning the morale of Fonterra around. They’ve been working hard to be a lot more transparent.”

McBride was tipped to be Monaghan’s successor in March.