Former Kiwifruit Vine Health general manager John Burke is Seeka Kiwifruit Industries' new chairman, following the departure of Kim Ellis.

It is reported Kim left due to pressure from major shareholders.

John Burke. File photo.

In a statement published on the website of the New Zealand stock exchange, Seeka chief executive Michael Franks and independent director John Burke say they had 'bowed to pressure” from the company's three major shareholders – Te Awanui Huka Pak, Fresh MD Holdings and DMS Orchard Management – and accepted the chairman's resignation.

Kim was appointed five years ago to introduce a stronger element of public governance to the group's corporate structure.

But in the past 12 months the group, which is New Zealand's largest kiwifruit grower-packer, has seen its business adversely affected by the country's recent Psa outbreak.

Plans for a merger with another major grower-packer, Satara Cooperative Group, was voted down by Satara's shareholders.

The move had been seen as a way of combating the threat of the Psa vine disease to the industry.

Since then, Seeka has revealed just how badly the outbreak of Psa has slowed down its operations by reporting a full-year loss of NZ$7.1m for 2011, down from a profit of NZ$6.4m in 2010.

With Kim departing, John Burke will take over the role of chairman and, according to Michael and John, the company will now revert to a model more akin to that seen across the rest of the New Zealand kiwifruit industry.

'That is, a local, industry-experienced chair who will work very closely with the CEO,” they confirmed.

John, who was elected to the Seeka board at its recent annual general meeting, is a former director of Te Awanui, Seeka's major shareholder, and was appointed to Kiwifruit Vine Health when it was formed to lead the industry's response to Psa.