There weren’t too many South Island-based jobs that ticked all the boxes on Dan Boulton’s wish list.
Up to seven years ago Boulton was working for fishing company Sealord, variously based in Nelson, Auckland and Sydney.
The born and bred Mainlander wanted to return home to the South Island but there were few options for someone at such an advanced stage of their career.
The role of chief supply chain officer at Silver Fern Farms had an appeal.
“There weren’t many large brands in the South Island but the opportunity at Silver Fern Farms meant I could be closer to family.”
Further attractions were being able to continue his involvement in a primary sector business while he was drawn by the progress SFF was making differentiating itself through growing its brand internationally and domestically.
In SFF he found a business where its staff, vision and profile were all built around its brand and plate-to-pasture strategy.
“In our sector, do not underestimate the power of brands,” Boulton says.
He was employed as SFF’s chief supply chain officer and three months ago replaced Simon Limmer when he retired as chief executive.
The promotion for Boulton was the culmination of a 20-year career in the primary industry, during which he worked his way up the management ranks.
Born and raised in Timaru, Boulton was one of three children and part of a family that loved being outdoors fishing and hunting.
“There was never a dull day in the Boulton family.”
He attended Timaru Boys’ High School and through family and friends spent time on farms, which nurtured a love and appreciation of the primary sector.
On leaving school, Boulton headed to the University of Canterbury, where he studied forestry, attracted by a job that involved being outdoors but also by a comparatively healthy salary.
His first job was with Carter Holt Harvey in Tokoroa, where he managed wood flow before moving into production planning.
He later headed overseas and on his return joined AS Wilcox, one of the country’s largest growers of onions, carrots and potatoes.
Starting as operations manager, which included overseeing the operations of three packhouses, he was responsible for introducing the Perla potato variety to New Zealand.
Boulton was eventually promoted to NZ manager.
His next move was to Sealord, where he was commercial manager running the aquaculture division overseeing salmon, mussel and barramundi production in NZ and Australia.
While at Sealord, Boulton also worked as commercial manager, which exposed him to the sales and marketing department.
Coming into the meat sector, he has been able to use knowledge from his previous roles, with many similarities such as working with growers and producers, overseeing a process that breaks down items and generating value for growers through exporting.
As supply chain manager, one of Boulton’s roles was managing livestock, which meant interacting directly with farmers.
It proved ideal preparation for his elevation to chief executive.
“It really grounds you, sitting around a table with farmers having a cup of coffee. You can’t help but have empathy and an understanding of what the pain points are.”
It reinforced the need for clear signals to flow both ways between farmers and processors, he says, to understand the situation of suppliers and to be clear about SFF’s vision and strategy while also being an efficient processor.
He is optimistic the current economic challenges for the sheepmeat sector will pass. The issue, he says, is driven not by lack of demand, but by the prices consumers are prepared to pay.
“I’m really confident the tipping point is just around the corner.”
That confidence stems from signs that high-worth customers are becoming more discerning in their purchasing selections.
“I am confident we are seeing a real shift in the buying behaviour of large-volume high-value customers.”
Those consumers are singling out companies that Boulton says show leadership and share their values on issues such as climate change, environmental management and animal welfare.
“A number of high-end retailers want to do business with us on the back of Net Carbon Zero and Nature Positive [programmes].
“We are seeing these customers coming to SFF because we align with their direction of travel and that means we can move from wholesale supply to high-end retail.”
With SFF measuring and reducing emissions within its supply-chain, its customers are also benefiting from its low emissions profile.
Boulton says the key to improving returns and profitability to farmers and SFF is to do things differently.
This is a track SFF is pursuing that will position its grass-fed NZ sheepmeat and beef at the top end of the market and reduce exposure to the commodity cycles that are plaguing the industry at present.
“I am excited about the future of what we farm and how we sell it.”
