Turners and Growers names Alastair Hulbert as new COE

Turners & Growers, New Zealand’s largest integrated fruit and vegetable marketer, named its international markets general manager Alastair Hulbert as new chief executive.

He replaces Geoff Hipkins, who left the company in March after media reports of a breakdown in his working relationship with the group’s senior management. Hulbert and chief financial officer Harald Hamster-Egerer have led the company in the interim.

Hulbert, who grew up on an asparagus farm, spent nine years as general manager of the company’s export subsidiary Delica Global, with a focus on grower and customer relationships, before becoming head of international markets, the company said.

“Alastair has extensive industry experience and talent which will be very valuable,” deputy chairman John Anderson said in a statement. “This unique background enables him to bring a wide range of relevant experience to the chief executive position, across all aspects of the business.”

Shares in Turners & Growers, which is controlled by Germany’s BayWa Aktiengellschaft, were unchanged at $1.60, having declined 3 percent this year.