Executive leadership team
Willie Wiese
Murray Behrent
Nigel Jones
Nicole Godber
Wayne Shaw
James McWilliam
Aneesha Varghese-Cowan
Sheena Henderson
Board of directors
Mark Wynne
Sarah Brown
Jared Collie
Gray Baldwin
Richard Greer
Don Morrison
Ross Bowmar
Matt Iremonger
Chris Day
Willie Wiese
Chief Executive
Willie was appointed CEO in March 2023 after his appointment to Interim CEO in February 2023. He holds the CEO position alongside his responsibilities as General Manager Manufacturing which he has held since December 2017.
Willie has led significant manufacturing operations in both Australia and South Africa. He has extensive experience in the implementation of strategies to deliver performance improvements in complex manufacturing operations.
Willie has a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Science and Business Administration from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Murray Behrent
General Manager Livestock and Shareholder Services
Murray was appointed General Manager Livestock and Shareholder Services in October 2023 after carrying out the interim role from June 2023. Having joined the company in 1990, Murray has held a variety of roles from Livestock Representative in the North Otago region, Group Livestock Services Manager through to General Manager Livestock in 2007, a role he held until 2016. In recent years, Murray has been responsible for the large corporate and key account farming businesses, along with managing the Northern Regional Livestock team.
During his 32 plus years with Alliance, Murray has led or been involved with a number of key projects including the introduction of the Farm Assurance Programme, Livestock Transport Accreditation programme, the management of on farm trial work, the Central Progeny Test used to identify superior sheep breeds, and the implementation of the Via Scan Yield Grading. He was also was part of the development team to bring the Handpicked programmes to fruition.
Murray has a Dip. Business Management.
Nigel Jones
General Manager Supply Chain and Planning
Nigel was appointed General Manager Supply Chain and Planning in May 2023, after holding the position of General Manager Strategy since September 2015. Prior this this Nigel spent 16 years in the dairy industry, including General Manager roles in strategy, supply chain and logistics with Fonterra. Nigel has significant experience in business strategy and planning, marketing, key account management, procurement, supply chain and logistics and has worked in a range of international markets.
He has Bachelor of Business Degrees in Accountancy and Finance, a Master of Science in Supply Chain and Logistics (Cranfield University, U.K.) and has completed an executive programme in Strategy at Stanford University.
Nicole Godber
General Counsel and Company Secretary
Nicole joined Alliance in 2022 as part of the legal team and was promoted to General Counsel and Company Secretary in 2024.
Before joining Alliance, Nicole gained extensive experience as legal counsel at Philips International and Pharming N.V., both based in the Netherlands, and advised large corporate, iwi, and local government clients while in private practice in New Zealand.
In addition to her role at Alliance, Nicole served as an Associate Director of Central Plains Water Limited from 2023 to 2024. Nicole and her husband Rob own a small sheep and beef farm in Darfield.
Wayne Shaw
General Manager Safety and Processing
Wayne joined Alliance Group in the role of General Manager Safety and Processing in December 2023. He has 32 years’ experience in the red meat processing sector, including 23 years at Silver Fern Farms where he covered a number of senior roles, with his final role being Operations Manager of their Sheep and Venison operation. In that role Wayne was responsible for 12 plants, livestock procurement, cold stores and transportation reporting, as well as a shared responsibility for Group Engineering. Most recently Wayne was Chief Operating Officer, Processing and Special Projects at Harvest Road Group in Western Australia, which covers beef processing, farming/feed lots and oyster farming.
Wayne has a Bachelor of Technology (First Class Honours), biotechnology and bioprocess engineering, Massey University and a Master of Business Administration (Distinction), Massey University.
James McWilliam
Global Sales Director
James took up the role of Global Sales Director in January 2024 having previously held the roles of Group Planning & Optimisation Manager, Levin Plant Manager and Global Sales Manager, Specialty Ingredients & Materials for Alliance.
Prior to joining Alliance in 2019 James had spent his entire career in the red meat industry. He started as a Management Graduate at Ovation New Zealand and has led teams across multiple geographies and spent the eight years prior to Alliance in-market in the UK and USA leading global sales functions for Ovation across the world.
Alongside James’ people leadership skills, he also has strong existing relationships with key internal and external customers and stakeholders. He successfully led the Levin Plant to record performance across safety and processing metrics and has a deep passion and end-to-end understanding of the red meat sector.
He has Bachelor of Physical Education and Bachelor of Commerce Degrees from the University of Otago. He has completed post graduate study at The London School of Business and Finance – Managerial Finance and an Executive Leadership programme in Leadership at Stanford University, California.
Sheena Henderson
General Manager Global Marketing
Sheena is a successful commercial senior business leader who has a passion for strategy, people, science, and primary industry. She’s led brands internationally and large full value chain businesses locally, including Fonterra.
Sheena has been a professional director for over 15 years and continues to consult and provide business advisory services alongside her professional governance work.
Sheena has over 30 years’ experience in food and agribusiness globally. She has a BSc and a BBS, both from Massey University.
Aneesha Varghese-Cowan
Chief Financial Officer
Aneesha was appointed Chief Financial Officer in April 2024. Aneesha has significant red meat experience in both NZ and Australia having spent time at Silver Fern Farms and JBS. She has also completed her Doctor of Business Administration in NZ Red Meat Farming.
Aneesha has a strong track record of transforming finance functions, systems, and processes through a focus on providing key data and insights to inform decision making and drive business performance.
Sarah Brown
Board-appointed Independent Director and temporary farmer-director
Chair of the People Committee
Sarah lives in Manawatu where she owns a sheep and beef farm. Sarah has held a number of senior management positions in marketing and consumer insights with high profile companies including Lion Nathan, Colmar Brunton, Australian Pork, Coca-Cola Amatil, Diageo and Goodman Fielder International.
She sits on the board of Dairy Goat Co-op and runs an International Marketing Consultancy for clients such as Boehringer Ingelheim (Australia, Asia, NZ), NZ Pork and Australian Pork.
Jared Collie
Supplier Representative
Jared was elected as a supplier representative in 2015.
He and his wife Prue, along with their 3 boys, operate a 1,325-hectare sheep, cattle and dairy farm in Central Southland.
Jared also sits on the board of Ballance Agri-Nutrients as a farmer elected director, is a director of Benmore Downs Ltd, director and chairman of Platinum Dairies Ltd, deputy chairman of the Jeff Farm Management Board and the facilitator for the Takitimu Discussion Group.
Gray Baldwin
Supplier Representative
Gray is a South Waikato dairy farmer and was elected to the board as a supplier representative in 2024. He and his wife Marilyn milk 850 cows on 700ha and have built up their gold shareholding supplying manufacturing beef to Alliance Levin.
Gray’s current governance roles across the agribusiness and science sectors include Farmlands Co-op, Trinity Lands, and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. Previous directorships included Ballance Agri-Nutrients and LIC.
With a career background in corporate marketing at BNZ and Ballance, he draws strategic insights from a broad base – he holds M.Agr.Sc, M.Theol and Dip.Bus.Admin qualifications. He has completed the Fonterra Governance programme and the Summer School in Co-operative Leadership at the University of Missouri.
Don Morrison
Supplier Representative
Don was elected as a supplier representative in 2013. He is a director of DG & BC Morrison Ltd, farming sheep and cattle on 465 hectares at Waikaka Valley, Southland.
He is also a director of Pure Taste New Zealand (NZ) Ltd, Te Ao Kakano Ltd, Ahika Journeys Ltd, chairman of W9 and a member of the Alpha Sheep Genetics Group.
Mark Wynne
Chairman
Mark joined the Board in December 2021 and was elected Chair in April 2024.
He is also Chair of Quayside Holdings, a large Tauranga based endowment fund. He has extensive experience in senior executive roles of large companies, including CEO of Ballance Agri-Nutrients, Regional President (South Asia) for Kimberly-Clark, and various senior roles across Asia, Middle East and New Zealand for Fonterra Brands.
Ross Bowmar
Supplier Representative
Raised in Southland, Ross and his wife Jess and their young family own and operate a high-country sheep and beef station in the Rakaia Gorge in Canterbury.
Ross brings a wealth of international experience and knowledge to the role, having completed a Masters in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University in the United States before spending 10 years with one of the world’s largest agricultural processing companies, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM).
In addition to his directorship with Alliance, Ross is currently a director on EA Networks.
Richard Greer
Supplier Representative
Richard was elected in 2023 to the board as a supplier representative. He, along with wife Kylie, farm Sunnyside station in Blackmont in Western Southland. The farming operation is 1600 hectares and runs Sheep, Deer and Beef. As well as farming livestock they are also involved in a tourism business.
Mobile 027 223 5493
Email Sunnysidestationnz@gmail.com
Matt Iremonger
Supplier Representative
Matt was elected to the board in 2024 as a supplier representative.
Farming 45,000 SU sheep and beef on Banks Peninsula and 1,500 dairy cows at Leeston, Matt, a Nuffield Scholar in 2023, is passionate about capturing market value efficiently, returning it to farmers, and strengthening the balance sheet.
He is committed to supporting Alliance to become a high-performing red meat business that delivers for its farmers and customers alike.
Danny Martorana
Chief Digital Officer
