How dairy guru Spierings became a world improver

For former Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings (56) the golf course is not satisfying. In fact, he is still brimming with ambitions. His new company The Purpose Factory focuses on serious themes in the world. Fighting hunger is one of his spearheads. What exactly are the plans, how does he look back on his career at Fonterra and what does he think of dairy farming in the Netherlands?

Between 2011 and 2018, Spierings was CEO of the New Zealand cooperative Fonterra, the largest exporter of dairy products on the world market. He now looks back on an intensive but also beautiful time. The farewell may not have gone as planned, but according to him that is inherent in working at the top. "Such a function is just like in professional football, the last performance mainly sticks."

Around his departure, there was criticism in New Zealand about the high salary and the departure bonus of the Dutchman, because Fonterra would be in a bad financial position. Spierings nuances this: "The remuneration was indeed high, but at the same time in line with the market and determined by the Supervisory Board at the time. If you have been a CEO at Fonterra for more than 8 years, many things have gone well."

New chapter after Fonterra
After his resignation from Fonterra, Spierings deliberately stepped back, but now it is time for a new chapter in his career: entrepreneurship. Spierings has big plans for his new company with which he wants to improve the world. This step is not surprising according to him. "I already announced this when I left Fonterra."

In short, The Purpose Factory is a company that consists of 3 pillars with resounding English terms: 'disrupt, transform' and foundation'. Spierings focuses on coaching food companies in sustainability and innovation. He also invests in promising start-ups. Half of the money earned is donated by the foundation to charities. The sustainability goals of the United Nations are leading in this regard. "We have selected 4 of the 17 objectives to bring focus. One of these is hunger reduction." 

Spierings has been an entrepreneur since the beginning of this year. His company now has 12 permanent employees and some external employees. The first customer is a major food company in South America with a turnover of $2 billion. According to Spierings, his global orientation comes from his career abroad. "I have lived and worked in many places and have therefore made many contacts. That opens doors. The international character is also in my family's DNA."

New Zealand versus the Netherlands
His view on the Dutch dairy sector should of course not be missed in a conversation with Spierings. For example, what does he think of the reorganization of the livestock? And do we farm more sustainably in the Netherlands than in New Zealand, or is it the other way around? Spierings is optimistic: "The bulk of milk production will continue to take place outside the tropics of the earth. Then we are talking about Europe, North America and parts of Oceania, South America and Asia. It is often not climatically efficient there, but there there is a growing demand from consumers."

According to him, this makes it legitimate to keep the Dutch dairy herd afloat. According to Spierings, exporting is not a dirty word. "You can never have too much milk on a global scale, but you can have too much milk within a production area. The trick is to process the surpluses into products with a long shelf life, such as milk powder. These can then be exported to countries where there is demand." This sounds simpler than it is, by the way. Processing the milk into the right products is a major challenge, says Spierings.

New Zealand is ahead of the Netherlands in terms of sustainability and entrepreneurship, according to the former CEO of Fonterra. "The dairy sector in our country has been maintained for years by subsidies. New Zealand was forced to stop this in the 80s. This has boosted innovative power among farmers. In New Zealand they graze in clusters, also known as 'mob "Grazing". This is done to achieve the optimal grass length for the cow. This is not yet done in the Netherlands. Also, Dutch dairy farming still relies heavily on fertilizer, unlike New Zealand."

"But not too gloomy, we are doing an excellent job in the Netherlands. The fact that the British biologist David Attenborough recently mentioned Dutch agriculture as an example for climate-proof agriculture is a wonderful compliment." Spierings is also still active in the Dutch dairy sector, as a strategic advisor at A-ware. "I know Jan Anker well and we do great things together. During my time as CEO, we started working with Fonterra in the mozzarella factory in Heerenveen." Later on, Fonterra terminated this partnership and A-ware concluded a deal with FrieslandCampina. 

End of hunger is possible
Where will Spierings be in roughly 10 years? His goals are quite ambitious. With the Purpose Factory, he wants to make a difference with regard to food security for half a billion people. Solving the world hunger problem is theoretically possible. "Research by the World Bank has shown that this will require $2,7 trillion in the coming years. The money is not a problem, because there is $4 trillion available worldwide from companies, funds and individuals. It is about making connections and we want to do that. make us strong."

The goal of Spierings is to seek connections with other charitable initiatives and to pick up the gauntlet together. "Bill Gates has also embraced the UN goals, so there is no lack of clout." But fighting hunger is not 'over the top', but mainly concerned with concrete action. "Our goal is to create micro-economy and help communities on the ground. For example with a cheese factory in Peru, from which the whole community can benefit." Spierings itself wants to remain fully active in the coming years and continue to work for a better world. "No, the golf course is not for me."

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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