Gray Baldwin and his wife Marilyn winter milk 850 cows, on an all-autumn calving system, on their 707ha property near Lichfield in South Waikato. The property includes substantial areas of maize and forestry land.

Having started his career in rural banking and the fertiliser industry, Gray went on to work in a variety of senior management and executive roles for BNZ Agri, Carter Holt Harvey and Summit Quinphos, where he was Chief Executive Officer. Gray’s past co-op governance roles include nine years with Ballance and ten years with LIC. His qualifications are M.Agr.Sc. and Dip.Bus.Admin (Massey) and M.Theol (Otago).  In 2015 he attended the Summer Institute of Co-operative Leadership at the University of Missouri. He also completed the Fonterra Governance Programme in 2010.