Experienced marketing leader appointed to Alliance Group board

This is a supplied media release.

Leading food company Alliance Group has appointed marketing and consumer insights specialist Sarah Brown to its board.

Ms Brown, who has held a number of senior management positions with high-profile companies including Lion Nathan and Colmar Brunton, has joined the meat processor and exporter as an independent director.

Her appointment brings the total number of directors on the Alliance Group Board to 10, including four independent directors.

Currently living and working part time on a sheep and beef farm in Manawatu, Ms Brown has considerable expertise in marketing in a broad range of industries. Over the last 18 months, she has assisted Australian Pork, Coca-Cola Amatil, Diageo and Goodman Fielder International.

She has a deep understanding of consumer insights, experience in the international food service market and brand positioning. Ms Brown has worked across the globe including Australia, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Korea, Japan, India, Malaysia and New Zealand.

Ms Brown was managing director of Colmar Brunton Australia, now part of WPP Group, from 1990-1995 and consumer insights director at Lion Nathan Beer and group marketing manager at Lion Nathan Wine from 1998 -2003. This included being part of the project team that developed a marketing strategy for exporting Steinlager to China.

She has also provided strategic consumer research and innovation advice to a range of international companies and brands including BSkyB, Horlicks and Ribena. 

The new Alliance Group director said she is looking forward to the opportunity to join a company which has made great strides in recent years.

“I am from a fifth-generation farming family and we supply stock to Alliance Group, so I am passionate about the company and the red meat sector. I have been impressed by Alliance Group’s transition to a food company and its position as New Zealand’s only 100% farmed-owned major red meat co-operative is appealing.”

Murray Taggart, chairman of Alliance Group welcomed the appointment.

“The board has thought long and hard about appointing a fourth independent director. We came to the conclusion that Sarah’s skills would be invaluable as we seek to capture more value from our markets as part of our business transformation strategy.

“Sarah’s experience in obtaining and converting consumer and customer insight into business strategy and tactics will be a major asset.

“Alliance has a range of activities in domestic and global markets focused on growth, providing a more sophisticated offering and capturing more value for our farmer shareholders.

“We are building a differentiated portfolio of products and a suite of premium brands in which to house them, so this appointment is timely.”

Ms Brown holds a bachelor of home science degree – distinction, majoring in food science and human nutrition, from the University of Otago.

The appointment is effective immediately.