Exit Wunnekink exposes culture struggle within RFC

Wunnekink realized that his position was coming under increasing pressure. With the resignation of fellow director Frans van den Hurk on September 6, it initially seemed that 'the old management culture' (as Wunnekink calls it) had still won. After all, the change-minded Van den Hurk left the field. Those who remained on the board suggested that he no longer had an overview and that everything at home was not in order. Outsiders also accuse him of giving up too quickly.

They were wrong. Many ordinary members and more and more district administrators did not accept that story. In recent weeks, support for Van den Hurk grew and Wunnekink finally drew his conclusions. 

Culture battle
The question is whether it will stay there. Because apparently a battle has arisen between different cultures in governance, between the old culture and the innovators. And this involves much more than just a management culture. It is also about how the company should be handled.

FrieslandCampina has traditionally been a 'management-driven' cooperative. Management makes the plans, the board sells them to the members. This went well, as long as the results were good and there was little pressure on the company. There were also plenty of managers at that time who understood what it was like to keep a dairy company running smoothly.

Management driven
In recent years, the management-driven model has been further developed, but more and more people with dairy in their blood left the company. In terms of results, reality was getting further and further away from the management story, both at the company itself and on the farm. That is where a large part of the increasing resistance comes from.

In fact, it had been bubbling in the top management of FrieslandCampina for some time. The premature departure of Frans Keurentjes was officially his own choice. The unofficial story, confirmed by several sources, is that he was encouraged to leave due to a lack of support, with the support of Wunnekink. A few months later it was Wunnekink's turn to resign. The question seems to be who else will follow and what will happen then.

Speculation
Anyone who asks questions about the running of business units at FrieslandCampina is told that speculation and rumors are not addressed. Wunnekink also refers to populist clamor and rumors when asking questions about the company. In the meantime, there is plenty of discussion in the dairy industry about the next companies that FrieslandCampina will divest. Whatever happens, it will unfortunately cost the members money again.