Our team

We’re a business made up of 2,000+ incredible people.

Whether we’re harvesting tomatoes, driving fork hoists, sourcing new plant genetics, marketing and selling our produce, we’re united by our passion, commitment and drive to grow healthier futures.

Our leadership team

Gareth Edgecombe

Chief Executive Officer
Gareth joined T&G as Chief Executive Officer in July 2018. He has extensive experience in business transformation, building high performing teams and developing brands across the Asia Pacific region. Prior to joining T&G, he was CEO of Comfort Group, President of the Campbell Soup Company for the Asia Pacific region, and President of The Coca-Cola Company’s South Pacific business. A former general manager of Puhoi Valley Cheese, Gareth has also served on the board of the Australian Food and Grocery Council.

Doug Bygrave

Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Doug is responsible for T&G’s finances and leading its finance, tax and legal teams across 13 countries. Since joining T&G in 1997, he has held many senior finance and shared services roles, including Group Treasurer and Company Secretary. Doug was appointed to the role of Chief Financial Officer in March 2021.

Craig Betty

Director Operations
Craig joined T&G as Director Operations in October 2019. He leads our growing operations for apples, including operational R&D, post-harvest and supply chain operations, and has global accountability for continuous improvement and quality standards and frameworks. Craig has extensive experience in operations and supply chain management, having previously been Chief Operating Officer for Westland Milk Products and General Manager Operations for Fonterra.

Rod Gibson

Managing Director T&G Fresh
As Managing Director T&G Fresh, Rod leads T&G’s domestic Aotearoa New Zealand business. His team is responsible for partnering with customers and growers to sell, export, import and grow year-round fresh, safe and sustainable produce to New Zealand consumers. He has an extensive background in retailing and the food sector. Rod joined T&G in January 2022, having previously been Chief Executive of Animates, New Zealand’s leading integrated pet retail business. Prior to this, he spent more than 11 years at Foodstuffs where he held a number of senior roles, including close to four years leading Foodstuffs’ Fresh category, as their Group Fresh Food & Liquor Manager.

Heather Kean

Director People & Culture
Heather joined T&G as Director People & Culture in June 2018, with overall responsibility for shaping the change programme to transform T&G into a high performance organisation. Heather also leads the Health & Safety function at T&G. With over thirty years of HR experience, she deeply understands the role of organisational culture in driving business success. Previously, Heather was Head of HR with Goodman Fielder NZ, and before that Director Global HR at Fonterra. She was a founding partner of New Zealand recruitment agency, Pohlen Kean.

Shane Kingston

Director International Sales & Marketing
Shane joined T&G as Director International Sales & Marketing in January 2024. He leads a global multi-national team who distribute, market and sell our range of apples and other fresh produce categories in over 60 countries. Shane has extensive experience creating sustainable customer partnerships, growing brands and building organisational capability. Before starting at T&G, Shane had a number of different roles at Diageo including Global Commercial Performance Director based in Singapore. Most recently, he held the role of General Manager of Sales, Marketing and Outbound Logistics at Alliance Group Limited.

Monique Mallon

Director IT
Monique joined T&G in September 2018 and has more than 28 years’ experience in IT and large-scale business transformation programmes. Having spent nine years with IBM as an Associate Partner and 14 years working in lead roles with New Zealand businesses, including General Manager of Information Systems at Vodafone and Head of IT for Fletcher Steel, Monique understands the need to deliver value through robust technology solutions which enable businesses to achieve their strategic objectives.

Adrienne Sharp

Head of Corporate Affairs
Adrienne oversees the protection and enhancement of T&G’s global reputation. She leads government relations, communications, sustainability, and industry and community engagement. Having joined T&G in January 2020, Adrienne’s career spans over 20 years in FMCG, the primary sector, professional services and logistics, across New Zealand, Australia and the UK. She previously held senior communications leadership roles at Fonterra and was Australian Managing Director for the Baldwin Boyle Group.

Our board

Benedikt Mangold

CHAIR AND NON-INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR
Board committee: Chair of the Sustainability Committee

Benedikt Mangold joined the BayWa Group in 2011 and is CEO of BayWa Global Produce GmbH – Munich, which is the majority shareholder of T&G Global Ltd. Prior to this position, Benedikt spent three years in New Zealand working for T&G as an export trader before moving into the role of Head of Strategic Planning and Transformation at T&G’s International Business Unit.

In June 2021, the T&G Board of Directors appointed Benedikt as Chair. He is also a Director of Profruit Investments (Pty) Ltd – Tzaneen and Chair and Director of BayWa Obst GmbH & Co. KG – Kressbronn.

Carol Campbell

Independent Director
Board committees: Chair of the Finance, Risk and Investment Committee, Member of the Human Resources Committee and the Sustainability Committee.

Carol Campbell has extensive finance experience and a sound understanding of effective Board Governance. She was a partner at Ernst & Young for over 25 years and has been a professional Director for over 10 years.

Carol is Chair and Director of NZ Post Ltd. She is also a Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committees of NZME Ltd, Asset Plus Ltd and Chubb Insurance New Zealand Ltd. Carol is also a Director of a number of other private companies.

Carol has a Bachelor of Commerce from Auckland University, is a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal of New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Andreas Helber

Non-independent Director
Board committee: Member of the Finance, Risk and Investment Committee.

Andreas Helber has been BayWa’s Chief Financial Officer since 2010. Mr Helber began his career at KPMG in Munich where he qualified as a tax consultant and auditor.

Mr Helber is a member of the supervisory boards of a number of private and listed companies including R+V Allgemeine Versicherung AG – Wiesbaden, BayWa Global Produce GmbH and BayWa r.e. AG in Munich, RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria AG – Vienna, and Cefetra Group B.V. – Rotterdam.

Rob Hewett

Independent Director
Board committees: Chair of the Human Resources Committee, Member of the Finance, Risk and Investment Committee.

Rob Hewett is Chair and Director of Silver Fern Farms Ltd, Silver Farm Farms Co-operative Ltd, Farmlands Co-operative Trading Society Ltd, Hilton Haulage Ltd, Pioneer Energy Ltd, Woolscour Holdings Ltd, Fern Energy Ltd and Hewett Farm Ltd.

He is a Director of Pulse Energy Ltd and Cross Docks Australia Pty Ltd. Rob is a member of the Ministry for Primary Industries think tank Te Puna Whakaaronui.

Rob holds a master’s degree in Commerce and Marketing (Hons), a BCom (Ag) Economics and is a Chartered Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. He won the 2019 Outstanding Contribution to New Zealand Co-operatives award and the 2023 Chairperson of the Year at the Deloitte Top 200 awards.

Marcus Pöllinger

Non-independent Director
Marcus Pöllinger joined the BayWa Group in 2008 and was appointed CEO of BayWa AG on 1 April 2023. Mr Pöllinger has held various management positions at the Group including head of BayWa AG’s Building Materials business division since 2015, Senior Executive Vice President of BayWa AG from 2017 – 2018 and has been a member of BayWa’s Board of Management since 1 November 2018.

Mr Pöllinger is a graduate in business administration, having completed his professional training in Munich, London and Sophia Antipolis (France). Mr Pöllinger is the Chair of the supervisory boards of BayWa Global Produce GmbH – Munich, and Cefetra Group B.V. – Rotterdam and a member of the supervisory boards of BayWa r.e. AG – Munich and RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria AG – Vienna.

Ralf Tobias Priske

Non-independent Director
Board committees: Member of the Human Resources Committee and the Sustainability Committee.

Tobias Priske started working for BayWa in 1998 as a member of the legal department providing advice to the various branches of the company and had a leading role in the acquisition of the majority of the shares of T&G by BayWa in 2012. From 2013 to 2015 he worked for the renewable energy sector of the BayWa Group as Deputy Legal Counsel focusing on establishing the renewable energy business in the US. In July 2015 Mr Priske was appointed as BayWa AG’s Company Secretary. Mr Priske is a Director of BayWa Agrar Beteiligungs GmbH – Munich and Cefetra Group B.V. – Rotterdam and also Company Secretary of BayWa Global Produce GmbH – Munich, and BayWa Canada Ltd – Vancouver.