Rabobank New Zealand Limited Directors

Mr Black joined the Board on 21 November 2022 and was appointed as Chair on 23 November 2022. He holds a Bachelor of Surveying from Otago University, a Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting from Victoria University, and is a Chartered Accountant.

Mr Black has considerable governance and executive experience, with a strong background in rural insurance, banking and investment management, including senior positions at UBS in the United Kingdom and, on returning to New Zealand, at Bank of New Zealand and its parent company National Bank of Australia. Mr Black was previously Chief Executive of rural insurance group Farmers Mutual Group for 13 years.

Mr Black joined the Board of the two core entities at Southern Cross and was appointed Chair of Toka Tū Ake | Earthquake Commission and a trustee of the Mental Health Foundation. He was previously president of the Insurance Council of New Zealand and on the Board of the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme.

Mr Black is a member and the Chair of the Board People and Remuneration Committee, and a member of the Board Audit Committee and Board Risk and Compliance Committee.

Mr Geerten Battjes joined the Board on 28 May 2015. He holds an honours degree in Econometrics from the State University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Mr Battjes joined Rabobank in 2009 and was responsible for the risk management function within Rabobank's international operations. Currently he is Rabobank's Head Enterprise Risk and Chief Credit Officer. Mr Battjes is the Senior Officer Outside Australia for Rabobank Australia Branch and a director of Rabobank Australia Limited.

Mr Battjes is a member of the Board Audit Committee, the Board Risk and Compliance Committee and the Board People and Remuneration Committee.

Mr Deane joined the Board on 15 November 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Honours) from the University of Canterbury.

Mr Deane has considerable commercial and senior executive experience across banking, food and fibre and other sectors. He is owner and managing director of New Zealand clothing manufacturer Norsewear.

He previously held senior executive roles at ASB Bank, Goodman Fielder (NZ) and Fonterra.

Mr Deane is a member and the Chair of the Board Risk and Compliance Committee and a member of the Board Audit Committee and Board People and Remuneration Committee.

Mr Goldsack joined the Board on 1 April 2020. He graduated from Victoria University with a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, he is a Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants Australia, New Zealand.

Mr Goldsack retired as a Managing Partner from PwC in 2017, 12 years of which he was a partner after working in New Zealand, Moscow and London. He also previously worked in Private Equity in London and New York. Mr Goldsack is currently on the Board of Fonterra Co-operative Group and Power Farming Group, is the Chair of Waitomo Group and Better Eggs. He is a Trustee (and past Chair) of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition. Mr Goldsack and his wife are dairy farmers in the Waikato.

Mr Goldsack is a member and the Chair of the Board Audit Committee and a member of the Board Risk and Compliance Committee and Board People and Remuneration Committee.

Ms Meddeler joined the Board on August 5, 2024.

Ms Meddeler, who is based in Utrecht in the Netherlands, has 30 years’ experience in global retail and wholesale banking and joined Rabobank in December 2021 in the role of Chief Compliance Officer.

She had previously spent more than 25 years with ING Bank, serving in a wide range of roles including Global FEC/AML (Financial Economic Crime/Anti-Money Laundering) Lead for ING Retail and Wholesale worldwide, Global Head Client Services Wholesale Banking, Head of International Business Clients and Head of Marketing Retail/Business Clients.

Ms Meddeler is a member of the Board Risk and Compliance Committee and a member of the Board People and Remuneration Committee.

Mr Wiessing joined the Board on 31 May 2024. 

He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Nyenrode Business University.

Mr Wiessing is a member of Rabobank’s global Management Team for Wholesale and Rural and is responsible for the Rabobank Australia and New Zealand Region in his capacity of Regional Manager, Australia and New Zealand. Mr Wiessing is also a director and Chief Executive Officer of Rabobank Australia Limited.

Mr Wiessing has more than 30 years’ experience in the financial sector, including postings in South America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. He joined Rabobank in 2006 and was the Regional Manager South America and Chief Executive Officer Brazil for 8 years.

Prior to Rabobank Mr Wiessing held roles with other leading financial institutions including Standard Bank of South Africa, Citibank and ING.

Mr Wiessing is a member of the Board Audit Committee, the Board Risk and Compliance Committee and the Board People and Remuneration Committee.