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Alliance Group’s chief executive, Willie Wiese, is stepping down, with new shareholder Dawn Meats installing Niall Browne as acting CEO. 

Browne is group chief executive at Ireland’s Dawn Meats, which last year spent $270 million on taking a 65% stake in the meat processor. 

Farmer-shareholders have retained a 35% share in Alliance, New Zealand’s biggest sheep meat exporter. 

Alliance chairman Tom Moran said Wiese had decided to leave the company after eight years, including almost three years as chief executive, to attend to some “pressing” family matters and focus on new opportunities. 

“Willie’s decision to step down follows an intensive two-year reset of the entire business, a pleasing return to profitability and the completion of a successful capital raise with Dawn Meats,” Moran said. 

He thanked Wiese for his commitment in leading the significant turnaround of the company. 

Wiese said he had delivered all his goals for the company and that now was the right time to leave the company. 

“After much reflection over the holiday period, and in discussion with the board, I have decided it is the right time for new leadership to lead the next phase of growth,” he said. 

“I’m proud of the hard work and support of the Alliance team and our farmer shareholders that has brought the company to this point, with the business now well positioned for the future.” 

Browne said Wiese had worked hard over the last two and a half years to help find a suitable partner for Alliance, and had played an integral role in the successful capital raise. 

The then cash-strapped co-op was facing insolvency and a December 19, 2025, deadline to repay $188m in bank debt before the Dawn Meats proposal gained the appoval of farmers in late October. 

“Willie and the Alliance team have brought the business back to profitability and we thank him for his contribution. We wish him well for the future,” Browne said. 

An integration process with Dawn Meats is under way with senior representatives from Ireland and the UK visiting New Zealand to share information, make plans for the future and secure further synergies with Alliance, he said. 

Browne said that, with the company having completed its first quarter, it was tracking ahead of budget, with supply from both current and returning shareholders and new suppliers. 

As part of the completed transaction with Dawn Meats, Alliance farmer-shareholders will receive a $20m payment scheduled for the end of the 2025-26 season and a further $20m scheduled at the end of the 2026-27 season, subject to livestock flows, he said. 

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.