New Zealand dairy producer Synlait has appointed its interim chief executive, Leon Fung, to the role on a permanent basis.
Fung assumed the position in May after Richard Wyeth left the company following one year as CEO.
In a stock-exchange announcement issued today (21 October), Synlait chair George Adams said: “Since his appointment as acting CEO, Leon has demonstrated strong leadership and commercial discipline with a deep knowledge of dairy processing which has helped deliver Synlait’s operational stability.
“This appointment provides continuity, clarity and momentum as the company continues to execute its recovery roadmap.”
Synlait described Fung as a “seasoned executive” with close to three decades of experience in the dairy and nutrition industries. His background includes dairy processing operations, capital investment programmes and market development.
He has also served as a Synlait director since June 2024.
Fung said: “The five months I have spent as acting CEO have given me greater confidence in the company’s future.
“We are making progress and I look forward to navigating the challenges and capitalising on the opportunities ahead, so we return Synlait to success.”
His permanent appointment comes as Synlait pursues a recovery strategy aimed at restoring profitability after reporting a loss for the year.
For the financial year ending July 2026, the dairy group recorded a net loss after tax of NZ$75.4m ($42.91m).
When it announced the results last month, Synlait said performance had been affected by a “difficult first half”. The business subsequently returned to “operational stability” during the second half, supported by “improved financial performance”.
Annual revenue increased to NZ$1.94bn, compared with NZ$1.83bn in the previous financial year.
Despite the higher sales figure, EBITDA declined substantially, dropping from NZ$50.7m to NZ$8.1m. Synlait ended the period with net debt of NZ$215m.
At the time, Fung said: “The operational and financial results for the second half show Synlait is making progress, but we are not getting ahead of ourselves.
“Our focus is on working carefully to ensure Synlait’s recovery continues.”
The New Zealand dairy company also denied media speculation in August that it was negotiating a sale of the business to The A2 Milk Company or Fonterra.
