Key Highlights

  • Synlait Milk has appointed Leon Fung as permanent Chief Executive Officer, ending an acting arrangement that began on 14 May 2026.
  • Fung has been a Synlait director since June 2024 and has nearly 30 years of experience across production, operations, capital expenditure engineering and market development.
  • Global consultancy Korn Ferry assisted the permanent appointment process.
  • Chair George Adams tied the decision to operational stability under Fung's acting tenure and to the company's continuing recovery roadmap.

Synlait Milk Limited (ASX:SM1) has named Leon Fung as its permanent Chief Executive Officer, turning an acting arrangement that began on 14 May 2026 into a full appointment. The dairy processor, which trades on the NZX under the code SML alongside its ASX listing, confirmed the decision on 21 October 2026. Fung has led the business on an interim basis for around five months and has also been a Synlait director since June 2024, so the permanent role goes to an executive who has worked at both board and management level within the company.

From Acting Chief Executive to Permanent Appointment

Fung took over as Acting CEO on 14 May 2026. Synlait subsequently ran a permanent appointment process, which was assisted by the global consultancy Korn Ferry, and the board has now confirmed the executive who was already leading the business. The outcome moves the chief executive position from an interim footing to a standing one without a change in the individual at the top of the management team.

The period between the start of the acting term and the confirmation covers a little over five months. Fung referred to those five months when commenting on the appointment, saying the time spent as Acting CEO has given him greater confidence in the company's future. His directorship, which began in June 2024, means he joined the Synlait board roughly two years before taking on the acting role. Counted from 14 May to 21 October, the acting term ran for 160 days, or just under 23 weeks.

An acting appointment places a named executive in the chief executive's seat while the board decides who should hold the role over the longer term. In Synlait's case, the board's choice and the acting holder turned out to be the same person, so the update confirms an existing leader rather than introducing a new one. The company is headquartered in Rakaia, Canterbury, in New Zealand, and carries dual listings under the codes NZX: SML and ASX: SM1.

Background and Experience of Leon Fung

Synlait describes Fung as an executive from the dairy and nutrition sectors with nearly 30 years of experience. That experience covers production, operations, capital expenditure engineering investments and market development, four areas that the company groups together when describing his career. CAPEX, short for capital expenditure, refers to spending on physical assets such as plant and equipment, so the engineering investments in his background relate to that category of outlay.

The company also outlined the nature of his earlier work. His executive record centres on scaling operations, optimising supply chains and building teams, and it was carried out across Asia-Pacific markets. These responsibilities now sit alongside his board role at Synlait, which he has held since June 2024, and the acting chief executive position he has occupied since mid-May 2026.

Comments From the Chair and Leon Fung

Synlait Chair George Adams said Fung has shown leadership and commercial discipline since stepping into the acting role, together with deep knowledge of dairy processing, and linked those qualities to the operational stability the company has delivered. Adams added that the appointment provides continuity, clarity and momentum as Synlait continues to execute what he called its recovery roadmap.

Fung said his time on the board gave him a clear understanding of the important part Synlait plays in New Zealand dairy. He described progress being made at the company and said he looks forward to navigating the challenges and capitalising on the opportunities ahead, with the aim of returning Synlait to success. The two sets of comments frame the appointment from different positions, with the chair addressing the board's reasoning and Fung addressing his own experience of the acting period.

Where the Leadership Change Leaves Synlait

With the announcement, Synlait Milk Limited (ASX:SM1) has a permanent chief executive in Leon Fung, who combines nearly 30 years of experience in dairy and nutrition with a board seat held since June 2024 and five months in the acting role. The appointment process was assisted by Korn Ferry and finalised on 21 October 2026. The company's chair has pointed to operational stability and a continuing recovery roadmap as the setting for the decision, while Fung has framed his own objective as returning Synlait to success. The appointment concerns leadership only, and the company has not tied it to any change in its operations or financial settings.