Pāmu appoints Hannah Ross-McAlpine as digital chief

Pāmu has appointed Hannah Ross-McAlpine Chief Technology and Digital Officer. She joins the New Zealand state-owned farming business from MetService.

Ross-McAlpine is currently Interim Chief Digital Officer at MetService, where she oversees digital strategy and the technology roadmap and leads a team of about 100. Her remit spans digital platforms, cloud, data, cyber security, software, infrastructure and digital workplace systems, as well as the adoption of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

She brings experience across digital products, strategy and commercial growth to one of New Zealand's largest farming operators. Pāmu runs 112 farms across the country, from the Far North to Southland and Otago.

Before joining MetService, Ross-McAlpine held senior roles at Xero and Trade Me. The appointment reflects the growing importance of technology, data and digital systems in connecting staff and farms and informing business decisions.

Chief Executive Mark Leslie said the hire reflected that shift.

"Hannah brings a valuable combination of technology leadership, commercial thinking and product experience, with a strong focus on people and making technology work for those who use it," Leslie said.

Ross-McAlpine will replace Tammy Lemire, who has led Pāmu's technology function since 2023 and later took on responsibility for data, artificial intelligence and transformation. The handover follows a period in which Pāmu shifted its approach to technology and data from back-office support to a more central business role.

Digital shift

Leslie said Lemire had played a significant part in that change, overseeing work on analytics, farm connectivity, infrastructure resilience and cyber security. He also pointed to growing capacity to invest in artificial intelligence, data and on-farm technology, alongside partnerships with Halter and LIFT.

"Tammy has helped change the way we think about technology and data at Pāmu, moving them from primarily support functions to strategic enablers for our business. Under her leadership, we have strengthened our digital and data foundations, built our analytics capability, improved connectivity, infrastructure resilience and cyber security, and created greater capacity to invest in AI, data and on-farm technology, championing partnerships and initiatives including Halter and LIFT. Hannah inherits a much stronger platform because of that work, and I want to thank Tammy for her leadership, energy and contribution to Pāmu," Leslie said.

Lemire has also held roles beyond Pāmu in New Zealand's agritech and data sector through AgriTechNZ and the AgriData Syndicate, and serves as co-chair of FarmIQ Systems.

Farm focus

For Pāmu, the appointment brings a senior digital executive into a farming business that has increasingly used technology to address practical operational issues. Its farm network gives it scope to test new ideas under commercial conditions and assess whether they can be applied more widely across agriculture.

Ross-McAlpine said the move appealed because of the link between commercial farming and longer-term land stewardship.

"The vision and purpose of Pāmu greatly resonated with me: the commitment to farming successfully today while caring for future generations. I'm excited about the opportunity to build on the strong digital foundations at Pāmu and better connect technology with the knowledge and experience of our people. My priority is to create the conditions for our people to do their best work, make everyday tasks easier, support confident decisions and deliver better results on farms and across the business," Ross-McAlpine said.

Her arrival also underlines how agricultural businesses are recruiting more heavily from sectors such as software, digital services and online platforms as they seek stronger oversight of data, connectivity, cyber risk and field operations. In Ross-McAlpine's case, that background includes experience in both public sector digital delivery and consumer technology businesses.

Pāmu, the farming brand of Landcorp, marked 140 years of farming Crown land in 2026. Across its operations, it says it is using technology and innovation to improve productivity, strengthen resilience and support environmental and animal outcomes.

Ross-McAlpine starts in January.