Nick Ross

The lure of working for the world’s leading exporter and milk processor was too hard for Nick Ross to resist after completing his business degree at Waikato Management School, majoring in economics.

“When I was offered a place on the 24-month Fonterra Graduate Programme I jumped at the chance,” says Nick, a former New Zealand hockey player who played for the Black Sticks for 10 years.

"Having six-month rotations in different departments provided me with the variety I needed to grow my knowledge of the company and help me understand the type of business role I would be ideally suited to.”

On finishing the graduate programme, Nick was offered a full-time role in the optimisation planning department; one of the areas he enjoyed the most while he was on his rotation. Since then, he has been promoted five times and advanced to a senior leadership role as General Manager - NZMP Digital.

NZMP Digital consists of product ownership, product operations and experience design, to efficiently manage, maintain and enhance the digital tools, platforms and sales channels that support Fonterra's Ingredients business.

Nick’s role is to manage day-to-day operations on the e-commerce store and customer portal, myNZMP, to keep things running smoothly and understand customers' needs.

“Being in an area of the business that works continuously to deliver incremental value in such a volatile market is an exciting environment to be in and a great challenge,” he says.

Nick credits the analytical and business skills he honed at Waikato Management School for securing a career that he enjoys so much.

“While studying, I became interested in understanding the dynamics of business and the economy, and the more I learnt about it, the more I discovered how economics can be applied to so many facets of everyday life," says Nick.