Fonterra Co-operative has appointed Laeek Afzal as General Manager Commercial – Manufacturing & Supply Chain following a global executive search conducted by SEQEL Partners. 

Fonterra is New Zealand’s largest business - supported by almost 18,000 employees around the world. The Dairy Co-operative is owned and supplied by farming families across the country who provide high quality milk to produce innovative consumer, food service and ingredients products.

Laeek is a proven finance leader with a background spanning large complex organisations across Australia and the United States. Prior to time as CFO of the private equity owned manufacturing firm ENTEK International, Laeek spent eight years with BlueScope Steel. In his final role as VP Finance & Commercial (CFO) for the $3 billion revenue North Star division he held full accountability for the finance, IT and procurement functions for the steel manufacturer.

Previously, Laeek was Manager Corporate Finance & Strategy for the BlueScope business in Melbourne. There, he managed large global M&A projects and drove strategic analysis of significant capital projects. His early career was predominantly spent with PwC in the Transaction Services and Audit teams across Australia, the UK and the Middle East.

Laeek holds a Bachelor of Accounting in Finance from Monash University, a Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accounting from CAANZ, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He commenced with Fonterra on Monday 11^th November.