Adam Bateman

A commercially astute and value-driven Chief Executive Officer with 20 years’ experience leading growth, transformation and operational excellence across the FMCG and agribusiness sectors. Proven success in building high-performing cultures, navigating complex stakeholder environments, and delivering sustained profitability in founder-led, listed and private equity settings. Skilled in strategy, building scale, M&A integration, organisational design, and brand development.

Board Director; Chief Executive Officer at Shoof International Limited (2020-01 – 2025-08)

Shoof International Ltd is a leading provider of animal care and equipment solutions, who design, source and manufacture products to make caring for animals easier. Shoof has sites in New Zealand, Australia, and Chile, and a distribution partner network for key global markets. Shoof was acquired by Pencarrow Private Equity in March 2023. Revenue is currently $38M.

• Led a global business of 90 staff through a five-member C-suite, driving enterprise-wide strategy, performance, and growth across all markets:
• Delivered 6% Revenue CAGR over tenure.
• Director on Governance Board and full ownership of subsidiaries (NZ, Australia, Chile).
• Transitioned the business from a 50-year owner-operator model to private equity, including sale process, transformation and integration.
• Delivered 24% EBITDA CAGR in first three years in role to realise enhanced enterprise value for founders, who previously could not achieve a transaction.
• Led creation and rollout of a 5-year strategic roadmap, repositioning the business to deliver on a renewed purpose and growth ambition
• Optimised working capital by over 20% post sale process to realise cash.
• Delivered organisational design to target achievement of 5-year plan, integrated two acquisitions, completed an IT infrastructure overhaul, a full brand refresh and executed a new route to market strategy to enhance global performance.
• Navigated COVID impacts from onset of tenure, delivering a step-change in way of working to enable continuity and to keep pace with a fast changing geo-political environment.
• Transformed the operating model of a legacy business from a wholesale/catalogue model into a future-focused, agile and consumer-led organisation to prepare for a sale process.
• Launched e-commerce across all markets - CAGR: 30% over 5 years - which is now a significant part of business performance.
• Development and implementation of ESG and key people frameworks to deliver a culture of safety, high-performance and engagement.
• Established consumer-led innovation pipeline and process to fuel continued revenue growth from proprietary products.

General Manager - Operations; General Manager - Land and Logistics at Steens Manuka Honey (2017-05 – 2019-12)

Steens Manuka Honey is a New Zealand producer of premium raw Mānuka honey, founded in 1982. Family-owned and UMF® certified, it exports globally with a focus on purity and sustainability.

• Full ownership of the operational value chain: Land, Beekeeping, Logistics, Facilities, Production, and QA, leading a team of 50 FTEs.
• Delivered on land and yield value optimisation strategy:
• Rationalised 40% of existing hive placements, that did not perform. Targeted new land blocks to stabilise performance and enhance value from a fixed OPEX base. Significantly lifted yield and profit value per hive (harvest valuation increased by over 100% vs. PY)
• Optimised production model. Reduce costs by 50% whilst increasing output by 25% through targeted CAPEX investment and process efficiency gains.
• Built and led a scalable operational structure aligned to our 5-year growth plan, including $6M annual budget, senior leadership recruitment, and KPI / development framework.
• Delivered key strategic projects: governance board establishment, export market expansion, optimisation programmes and ERP implementation.

National Field Sales Manager at Constellation Brands (2014-04 – 2017-04)

Constellation Brands is a multi billion dollar global beverage company and one of New Zealand’s largest wine producers and exporters, with brands such as Selaks, Kim Crawford, and Robert Mondavi.

• Led sales across Grocery, Liquor, Duty Free and On-Premise channels. Managed a 60-person field team and $3.2m OPEX budget.
• Delivered two years of budgeted growth while executing a major sales transformation (structure, coverage, trade tools and go-to-market strategy), achieving $500k in cost savings.
• Developed and embedded a cross-functional cycle planning and review process to deliver on execution.

Market Manager - NZ and Pacific Islands; National Business Manager at Coca-Cola Amatil (2011-01 – 2014-03)

Major Asia-Pacific beverages bottler and distributor, operating across six countries; merged with Coca-Cola European Partners in 2021 to form Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

• Reported to the Australian division; accountable for delivery of sales and profit across NZ, PNG, and the Pacific Islands.
• Delivered AUD $1.8M EBIT uplift in NZ through revenue management, structural change, and cost control.
• Repositioned SPCA brand via pack, price, and brand architecture optimisation.
• Launched 25 premium SKUs in NZ to drive value.
• Implemented new route-to-market for the Pacific, resulting in +$600K EBIT.

National Account Manager; Project Management - Precinct Marketing at British American Tobacco (2008-05 – 2010-12)

British American Tobacco (BAT) is a leading tobacco and nicotine products manufacturer; FTSE 100, operating in 180+ countries.

• Graduate role, selected for fast-track leadership program recognising high potential and performance, with extensive training across marketing, sales, commercialisation & leadership.
• Responsible for Oil and Duty Free portfolios (>$200M Rev).
• Negotiated $400K (5%) in savings from an $8M trading terms budget, whilst enhancing market position.
• Achieved 2.5% market share growth in Oil Channel (2010 vs. PY), which equated to an incremental $5m Revenue.

Bachelor of Business Studies with Honours in Marketing – Massey University, NZ (2002 – 2005)