December 16, 2025
Hardeep Kang started in her role as General Manager Quality for Yili Oceania Business Division just over three months ago. Born into a dairy farming family in Manawaru, Waikato, she is a fourth generation New Zealander. After growing up on the family dairy farm, Hardeep’s first professional job after leaving Otago University was as a laboratory technician at the Waitoa site for the New Zealand Dairy Group in 1984. Much of her career has involved working across laboratory, technical and quality roles as well as operations. Hardeep has worked on assignments offshore, including Operations Manager and then Managing Director, DFE Pharma, India region for Fonterra. At the business headquarters in Germany, Hardeep played a leading role in developing a 10-year strategy for the Sri Lanka division.
In her own words Hardeep talks about her career and her vision for her new role.
1. What brought you to Yili’s New Zealand Group of companies (the Group)?
I had to return to what was in my heart, and honour my heritage and capabilities. The dairy industry always brings me closest to my farming family heritage. When I researched the Group, the company aspiration, global reach, and focus on quality caught my attention.
I am so impressed with the executive leadership which is a truly diverse and inclusive team, not only in culture, gender, race, age, but equally in thinking, leadership styles, communication styles and experiences. The technical aspects of my role are a given, while the integration across geographies and teams will take us to the next level of optimisations and efficiencies for our business. It’s an exciting opportunity with a truly global business that has a heart firmly in New Zealand. My dad, if he was still alive, would be so proud that I am part of this company and working in the dairy industry.
2. What does ‘quality’ mean to you in the context of dairy ingredients, and how do you plan to elevate it in the Group?
When I think of quality I think of the consumer and customer first. That’s where it begins for me. I think of the degree of excellence they are seeking. Ensuring our product is safe for our consumers is our number one priority.
3. Quality isn’t just compliance – it’s about creating value. How do you see innovation playing a role in quality for Westpro ingredients?
Compliance only gives us the licence to operate. Our quality teams support value innovation by using cutting-edge technology enablers. These support rapid analytics and feedback loops to our people who are making the products, whether it is by rapid in-line testing or digitisation to automate our reporting processes. “Real time” quality reporting supports our teams to make rapid decisions at time of manufacture.
4. What trends in food safety and quality do you think will shape the dairy industry in the next five years?
We are members of the New Zealand Food Safety Science Research Centre (NZFSSRC), a forum which connects us with global food safety emerging risk. Things to consider are emerging pathogens, virus, chemical contaminants, rapid test methods and improved level of detection. There’s also sensitivity around food fraud and supply chain vulnerabilities to consider as well as geopolitical impacts on standards to get products across borders. New technologies will give our consumers access to the full story of how their food is produced from the source. Food safety technologies will continue to advance, while big data sources and artificial intelligence will also play a major role in future dairy production.
5. If you could implement one game-changing quality initiative tomorrow, what would it be and why?
Direct release would be a game-changer. The perfect day of a milk drop from farm to consumer, using technology to check and adjust in real time where all information streams are connected to enable this.
6. What inspired you to pursue a career in quality management?
I get to work with many teams to foster a culture of quality and I can bring my operations experience and apply it to a food safety and quality perspective. It's a complex role that takes energy and resilience. I get to interact with people both internally and externally to. In this role I feel like I am the custodian for the consumer.
7. What’s one hobby or activity that helps you recharge after a busy day?
In this decade, its climbing mountains, at least one hike per week. Connecting with nature and listening to my own huffing and puffing with every step, and that feeling of achievement at summiting is my current obsession.
Connect with Hardeep on LinkedIn.
