Business success News

The evolution coming for Synlait

3 Dec 2025

Since Synlait’s CEO Richard Wyeth took over the company’s helm, his focus has been on uplifting the processor’s operational stability. With momentum now building on that front, he is turning to his next challenge … charting a course that will return the Canterbury processor to being one of New Zealand’s business success stories.

When Wyeth recently spoke at his first Annual Meeting as Synlait’s CEO on 21 November, he had been in the job for six months and one day.

“There are days it feels longer than that,” he told shareholders. “I entered a business facing several manufacturing challenges. These were complex issues and impacted our ability to continually deliver product on time, in spec, and at scale.”

Wyeth, a seasoned dairy professional, set about addressing the challenges.

“That involved ensuring we have the right people in the fright place, uplifting training and capability in the front line and reinforcing our relentless focus on quality. It has also involved resetting Synlait’s high performance culture.”

Wyeth told shareholders the efforts are paying off.

“The team has responded. We have a new energy in our frontline teams that is translating to positive momentum in our operational stability.”

More than 60 shareholders attended the Annual Meeting – both in in-person and online.

The four resolutions before the meeting were passed unanimously. These included the re-election of Paul McGilvary and Julia Zhu as directors, authorisation of the Board to determine the auditor’s fees and expenses for the coming year and approval of the NZ$307 million sale of Synlait’s North Island assets.
The North Island transaction is on track to settle on 1 April 2026 and will see Synlait return to being a single-site processor at Dunsandel outside of its Dairyworks business in Christchurch.

In his re-election speech, Director Paul McGilvary spoke of his confidence in Synlait’s future.
“I’ve always believed Synlait has the greatest potential to create value for its shareholders of any New Zealand dairy business through its focus on high-end nutritional powders including infant formula and high-value cream-based foodservice products.”

Director Julia Zhu talked to Synliat’s major shareholder, Bright Dairy’s unwavering support of Synlait.
“As a dairy company in China, Bright understands the dairy industry intimately. We’ve weathered our own share of industry cycles and challenges, which is why we truly empathise with Synlait’s journey and remain fully confident in its potential.

Chair George Adams told shareholders the Board has two main focuses for the current financial year – executing the North Island sale and resetting Synlait’s strategy.

“The Board, together with Synlait’s executive leadership team, is determined to chart a path that will realise the company’s potential. The goal is to ensure we create sustainable growth that delivers long-term value.”
CEO Richard Wyeth said this strategy will be an evolution not a revolution.

“My goal is to ensure we have a clear plan for our world-class facilities, know what high-value products we are making, who we are going to sell them to and how we are going to deliver sustainable, high value growth which benefits our shareholders, our farmers, our customers and our people.”

The dual-listed Canterbury-based company will provide an update on its strategy reset when it delivers its half year result in March 2026.

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