The Zespri Board has appointed Teresa Ciprian as an independent director, recognising her expertise in global brand marketing and business development.

Zespri Chairman Peter McBride explains Ms Ciprian has a lot of relevant experience to bring to the Zespri Board from her 12 years at senior levels in Danone, a Fortune 500 company present in over 140 countries with turnover of €21 billion last year.

“We’re very pleased to have Teresa’s experience in both international business development and health marketing on the Zespri Board. As the kiwifruit industry heads into a period of strong growth, it’s even more important that we have a broad range of strong governance skills on the board,” says Mr McBride.

Ms Ciprian is the first woman to be appointed to the Zespri Board.

Ms Ciprian says her passions for agriculture, food-related businesses, brand New Zealand, consumer brands and consumers combine in Zespri.

“Zespri is a strong brand and a New Zealand business with significant global potential. The industry has a goal of increasing export revenue to $3 billion by 2025 and I welcome the opportunity to contribute this success,” says Ms Ciprian.

Ms Ciprian has a background in the commercialisation, innovation, marketing and business development of dairy products, functional beverages and other foods.

She has significant international business experience, having held a number of senior roles with Danone in both the USA and France where she worked in a number of international markets. Her primary focus was on identifying, developing and delivering global growth initiatives with central and locally-based teams. Beginning her career as a technician in the dairy industry, she is passionate about adding value to New Zealand’s primary and technology-based industries.

Since returning to New Zealand, Ms Ciprian has advised a number of internationally-focused businesses on their growth strategies and has developed a governance portfolio that also includes the boards of Firstlight Foods Ltd, AgResearch, Aspeq and Aviation New Zealand.