Oceania Leadership Team

René’s career in the food industry spans 30 years, with the past 18 years spent with Fonterra Co-operative, one of the world’s largest dairy nutrition companies with a footprint spanning more than 120 countries.

Since joining Fonterra, René has held global and local leadership roles with responsibility of managing businesses, customers and deep stakeholder relationships.

René assumed the role of Managing Director, Global Consumer and Foodservice, Fonterra on 1 August 2024 and is a member of the Fonterra Management Team. Fonterra’s Global Consumer and Foodservice business covers Fonterra’s businesses in South-East Asia, South Asia, Middle East Africa, and Oceania. The Global Markets Sales & Marketing and People & Culture teams also report directly to René.

René also directly manages the Fonterra Oceania business, born from the recent integration of Fonterra’s Australian and Fonterra Brands New Zealand businesses. This $3 billion multi-channel business is home to a suite of dairy brands that Aussies and Kiwis love.

Kathy joined Fonterra in 2006 as Executive Assistant to the Global Foodservice Director, supporting the Global Foodservice team for over 9-years.

In 2015 Kathy moved to the Executive Assistant role supporting the Managing Director of Fonterra Australia, before transitioning to the role of Executive Assistant to the Managing Director Oceania in February 2024.

Prior to joining Fonterra, Kathy worked at Quickflix Limited in Perth, Western Australia as the Personal Assistant to the Managing Director, gaining valuable experience in the technology industry.

From 2000 until 2004, Kathy worked in the automotive sector. Here she worked for Holden Limited and Holden Special Vehicles, supporting the Engineering teams.

Kathy is well known for her collaborative approach, ensuring she works closely with the executive support teams across the business and is a key part of the Oceania management team.

Rob Howell's journey in dairy began at Nestle’s Dennington factory, laying the groundwork for a career that has spanned more than 25-years with Fonterra. Rob now holds the key role of Operations and Supply Chain Director for Fonterra Oceania.

Throughout his tenure, Rob has held various roles within Operations, including serving as site manager for Fonterra's Dennington, Cobden and Cororooke sites. Rob currently heads up Fonterra Australia’s Supply Chain and Operations team.

Known for his down-to-earth approach, technical expertise and effective leadership style, Rob is well respected across his team and the wider business.

Jorja is an accomplished legal and strategic professional with over 20-years of experience. She began her career in the Corporate and Commercial Team at Arnold Bloch Leibler, specialising in mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, business structures, public listings, debt and capital raisings, and governance issues.

In 2015, Jorja joined Fonterra as Senior Corporate Counsel for Australia and in 2017 was appointed General Counsel. In 2020, Jorja assumed leadership of the Program Management Office (PMO), with her role expanding further in mid-2023 when she began overseeing the Strategy Team.

With the establishment of Oceania in early 2024, Jorja was appointed Corporate Functions and Integration Director, where she provides strategic leadership across Legal, Strategy, PMO, Food Safety & Quality, Health Safety & Wellbeing, Regulatory Affairs, Nutrition & Specifications, and Environment. Jorja leads the integration efforts of the Australia and Fonterra Brands New Zealand businesses, with her Integration team also appointed as the first point of contact for the potential divestment of the Oceania business as part of the broader Fonterra consumer business divestment.

Renee is a respected marketing leader with extensive experience throughout her 20-year career working across a range of industries in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Prior to joining Fonterra in May 2023, Renee was the Executive Manager of Marketing at IAG (AMI, State, NZI) and prior to that, the General Manager of Marketing at Fletcher Building.

The first 13-years of Renee’s career were in FMCG, with 6 of those years working for Lactalis in the United Kingdom, a global French dairy company before she moved back to New Zealand to join FBNZ, working across several dairy categories and brands

Renee is delighted to have returned to the dairy industry to a company she loves within the fast-paced environment of an FMCG business to drive growth for FBNZ’s iconic Kiwi brands like Anchor, Mainland and Fresh ‘N Fruity.

Matt first joined Fonterra in 2010 and currently holds the role of Director, Farm Source Australia, a position he’s held for the last five years.

He is known for his transparent and honest approach to leadership, alongside his extensive understanding of the Australian dairy industry, local and global dairy economic markets, and on farm practices.

Matt balances his time travelling across our regional locations, alongside time in the head office, working closely with all members of the Farm Source and Farm Milk Collection teams. You’ll also regularly find Matt out on farm visiting our farmers to understand how their businesses are tracking.

Previously Matt has held the roles of National Milk Supply Manager, National Field Manager, and Regional Milk Supply Manager.

Matt has 20-years of experience working within agriculture, and prior to joining Fonterra he held numerous roles at AWB Group, a leading Australian agribusiness firm.

A senior executive with broad experience across the FMCG sector, Xen originally joined Fonterra in 2016. In January 2020 he took on the role of Consumer Director Australia, where he led the Consumer Sales and Marketing Teams (including Insights & Innovation). Xen continues to lead this team under the Oceania business model where he holds full responsibility for the Consumer Divisions performance.

Xen has 30-years experience in FMCG, including 22-years in dairy with organisations such as Nestle, Lion Dairy & Drinks. Having started his professional career with Ernst & Young, Xen soon found his place within the world of FMCG and spent the early stages of his career with Nestle and Cadbury Schweppes.

Xen has since held numerous Senior Sales roles at Nestle, National Foods (subsequently Lion Dairy & Drinks) before ultimately joining Fonterra as GM Consumer Sales in 2016.

Xen is an authentic, affiliative leader focused on creating a team environment where people have the autonomy to achieve together, develop themselves and have a great time doing it.

Elizabeth is a seasoned communications strategist with demonstrated experience in enhancing and protecting the profile, reputation and engagement of complex organisations.

Prior to joining Fonterra in 2023, Elizabeth provided impactful communications advice and counsel at the executive level across a number of well-known organisations, including Telstra, ANZ Bank, Bupa, the Department of Human Services and Swinburne University of Technology.

In a career spanning three decades, Elizabeth is focused on positively shaping the internal and external narrative through creative and innovative communications strategies and execution.

Elizabeth is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and holds a Master of Arts (Communications) from RMIT University and a Bachelor of Business (Marketing / Economics) from Swinburne University of Technology. She is also a Director of the South Metro Junior Football League (SMJFL), the largest independent sporting league in Australia.

Guy has been the NZ Sales Director for Fonterra Oceania (formerly FBNZ) for just over 2-years. He brings an optimistic and tenacious attitude to his work and has spent the last 2-years building a high-performing collaborative team who have delivered exceptional results.

With over two decades at Lion (formerly Lion Nathan), Guy's journey through various finance and sales roles has culminated in his current leadership position, where he's steering the sales ship with a steady hand. Guy has essentially been in FMCG his whole career, starting with a stint at ACNeilsen in the late '90s.

Lynne joined Fonterra in 2008 and has been working with our New Zealand Brands division ever since. She started her tenure in Fonterra heading up the NZ category team, then moving into the role of Business Manager for Foodstuffs Nationwide. From there Lynne joined the Export division as marketing manager for 3-years and secured the head of sales role for all Export a few years ago. Lynne has been in the Director role for over a year.

Prior to joining Fonterra Lynne worked in large scale retail organisations within NZ managing their apparel divisions – an experienced buyer, merchandise planner and financial planner for Farmers Trading company and the Warehouse Group.

The first 6 years of Lynne’s career were in Levi Strauss NZ where she had various operations roles before moving into marketing.

Lynne is well known for her authentic leadership approach ensuring she works closely supporting and enabling others to achieve their own aspirations. Lynne has wide customer networks spanning across multiple geographies and is highly skilled in creating strong customer partnerships and positive stakeholder engagement.

Victoria is an experienced professional with a 16-year journey at Fonterra. Her career began in a regulatory advocacy role, where she honed her skills in navigating the complex landscape of industry standards and government advocacy. With a solid foundation in regulatory affairs and leading the global regulatory team, Victoria transitioned to leading the Australian ingredients team, showcasing her ability to drive success and foster collaboration within her teams.

In March 2022, Victoria’s role expanded incorporating the foodservice business into her remit. This strategic move highlights her knack for taking on new challenges and demonstrates a track record of success in leading diverse teams.

Prior to joining Fonterra, and post her dietetic training, she worked in foodservice and government roles. Her foodservice experience provides her with a hands-on understanding of both the culinary and front-of-house aspects of the industry.

A graduate of the AICD Directors Course, Victoria is a versatile and accomplished professional in the food and dairy industry and a welcome addition to the FSAA Board.

Suzie joined Fonterra in 2017, initially working in various People & Culture roles within the Australia business, including leading the broader People &Culture function for Australia. With the recent formation of Fonterra Oceania, Suzie now holds the role of GM People & Culture, Oceania, leading a team focused on providing strategic business partnering to our leaders to enable the delivery of our strategy, and building the capabilities of our leaders and people.

Prior to joining Fonterra, Suzie held People & Culture roles in industries across Australia, including professional services, media, and entertainment. She has a passion for coaching leaders and unlocking the effectiveness and capabilities of individuals and organisations to achieve results that benefit both the business and its people. Suzie is particularly interested in creating psychologically safe environments by enhancing leaders' communication skills, recognising that embracing diverse perspectives can significantly impact teams and the business.

David commenced with Fonterra Oceania in the role of Commercial Director in August 2024, bringing with him a wealth of experience and a proven track record from more than 20 years in financial leadership positions.

Prior to this role, David was with Treasury Wine Estates, where he was most recently their Chief Financial & Strategy Officer for their Global Premium Brands. David also deeply understands the consumer retail environment, having spent seven years at Coles and Wesfarmers as the Head of Business Development & New Ventures, as well as the Head of Finance for Supermarkets.

As part of his vast global experience, David has held key commercial positions at Tenix in Australia, Sony in the UK and PwC in the USA. His strategic expertise in divestment and demergers, transformation and growth is key for the Oceania business as we move into the future.