AgTech Leader To Join The New Zealand Merino Company

Leading global marketer and seller of ethical wool, The New Zealand Merino Company Limited (NZM), is pleased to announce the appointment of Angus Street as its Chief Executive Officer.

Angus brings a wealth of agribusiness leadership experience to the Christchurch-based company. Since 2018 he has served as CEO of AuctionsPlus, one of Australia’s oldest and most successful Agtech businesses, where he led significant business growth and secured the platform’s position as the largest agriculture marketplace in Australia. He previously held senior roles at Hort Innovation, Meat and Livestock Australia, and Bastion Collective.

Growing up in rural New South Wales, Angus has a passion for innovation and sustainability in the agricultural sector. The opportunity to lead an organisation with a deep legacy and strong purpose aligns with his value-based leadership approach.

“Staying connected to the rural sector is important to me and the opportunity to be part of NZM’s journey is a real honour. The company has been challenging the status quo for 27 years and leading the way in sustainable and regenerative farming.

“This is a particularly interesting opportunity for me as my family’s roots can be traced back to the birth of the wool industry in Australia in 1797 with the introduction of Spanish blood Merinos by Captain Henry Waterhouse,” said Angus.

Kate Mitchell, Chair of NZM’s Board of Directors, said that Angus’s dual experience in technology and agriculture, coupled with a personal affinity for the farming sector made him the ideal candidate to follow in the footsteps of NZM’s first CEO John Brakenridge.

“John was responsible for transforming the fine wool industry in New Zealand, so his resignation kick-started a global search for a leader with the tenacity and imagination necessary to continue NZM’s story.

“We are delighted to have Angus join the team. He has the experience, skill, and crucially passion required to lead a complex business that needs to constantly evolve to keep our growers’ wool at the forefront of the global market,” said Kate.

Technology is critical to the future of NZM. This time last year the company announced its partnership with Silicon Valley technology company, Actual. Its platform will help to equip NZM’s growers with tools to monitor and improve their environmental, social and animal welfare performance. This work was celebrated by Time Magazine in its round up of ‘The Best Inventions of 2022’.

The leap forward with Actual was one in a long line of firsts for NZM. Its 1996 beginnings saw the first long-term contracts between growers and global brands, sheltering both from the volatility of the commodity market. The company went on to pioneer the world’s first ethical wool certification and build an unprecedented global network of over 130 leading brands.

“NZM is known for making bold moves and the next chapter isn’t going to change that, I’m looking forward to getting out amongst the growers and helping them to produce and market the best wool in the world,” says Angus.

Angus, along with his wife and two young children, is in the process of relocating to Christchurch where he will take up the CEO role in early August. In the interim NZM Chief Operating Officer, Peter Floris, will continue as acting CEO.

ENDS

About The New Zealand Merino Company

Since its 1996 beginnings as industry-good organisation, Merino New Zealand, The New Zealand Merino Company (NZM) has been a champion of innovation and challenging the status quo.

Now the leading global marketer and seller of ethical wool, it fosters direct connections between growers and the world-leading brands that use their fibre. The NZM model offers stability and security against the volatility of the commodity market for both while striving for a better impact on the world.

NZM operates two wool sourcing programs, ZQ which sees growers meet world-leading fibre quality, animal welfare, environmental, and social responsibility standards, and ZQRX which goes a step beyond with its regenerative index designed to promote and support continuous improvement.

For more information, visit www.nzmerino.co.nz

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