Mr Kirke (63) is a retired Fairlie high country farmer and father of three who has lived in Wanaka with his wife, Clare, since 2004.
He replaced longstanding WSI chairman Pat Morrison, of Darfield, on Thursday last week.
That day the company also released its latest six-monthly report to the stock exchange, showing a much improved financial position compared with last year, and announced it would issue a one-off imputed dividend of 2c per share to shareholders on May 6.
Three hours later, business reporters were on the phone, demanding to know if there had been a "boardroom battle" over a decision to reject a bid by competitor Cavalier Wool Holdings to buy WSI's two scours.
Cavalier was sent packing by chief executive Michael Dwyer, who issued a statement accusing it of being "frivolous" and attempting to "destabilise and unsettle" WSI.
"There was no relationship between the two issues [of chairmanship and bid rejection]," Mr Kirke said yesterday.
"The board thinks it is very important for the company to be retained as it exists now. We firmly believe that the value of the company is as a complete entity, not in its bits."
Mr Kirke is no stranger to the wool industry, having served as director and chairman of the Drysdale Wool Marketing Co-op in the 1970s and '80s and then on the board of WSI since 1993.
Last year, he was a member of the Government's Wool Taskforce, which reported to the Minister of Agriculture on the future of the industry.
He is chairman of Animal Control Products, which produces the 1080 pest-control substance and, in the 1970s and '80s, was involved in the restructuring of the aerial top-dressing industry.
That resulted in the formation of a group of about 12 members, who then successfully broke "the licensing cartel" that existed at the time, resulting in an open and competitive industry.
Mr Morrison announced his retirement in December.
He said in a letter to the board last week he had enjoyed his time with the company and, with WSI in a substantially improved financial position, he believed it was appropriate to step down.
In recent months, the Otago Daily Times has reported the industry is gripped by "poisonous wrangling" and needs a "major reality check".
Mr Kirke acknowledged it was competitive and "hugely dynamic and complex".
He also acknowledged WSI's situation had been complicated by the receiverships of two large shareholders.
One is Plum Duff Ltd, a company associated with Timaru financier Allan Hubbard, and the other is Woolpak Holdings Ltd, associated with Timaru businessman Ross Lund.
Together, they hold about 65% of WSI shares, which the receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers, wants to sell.
Mr Kirke said board members were committed to working with the receiver of those companies to achieve the best outcome for WSI shareholders.
Mr Hubbard had been a "very loyal long-term holder of our shares through difficult times", he said.
The company had refinanced about a year ago with the Bank of New Zealand, and enjoyed a good relationship with the financier and was meeting its agreed debt ratios, Mr Kirke said.
"Our financial turnaround is an extraordinary outcome in the face of such challenges ... I feel this has been buried under [the news of] the Cavalier bid," Mr Kirke said.
The turnaround could be attributed to the dedication of experienced staff, he said.
The financial recovery could be attributed to several other factors, such as changes in terms of trade; reduction in world sheep numbers; promotion of wool products; education of European architects (regarding wool floor coverings and other housing products); the Campaign for Wool, lead by Prince Charles; and a general lift in world commodity prices, he said.
"Some in the industry have called it a temporary spike and some in the industry did not pick the price lift last year. And because they didn't pick the market, it has probably been quite expensive for them. But, of course, we don't know that for sure.
"But our international team, particularly our chief executive, through communication around the world, had picked a strong recovery this season and we were very confident of this coming. So we very deliberately didn't sell short - by that, I mean sell wool we didn't own. That is not sensible on a rising market.
"And just to show it is not a dead cat bounce, three sales ago the price lifted 10%, which is enormous, in one sale."
"At the following sale, there was very little change in price and Thursday's sale this week was reasonably firm. So no, we think those prices at about $6 per kg were at a very sustainable level," Mr Kirke said.
December's half-yearly report showed a total operating revenue of $84.8 million and an operating surplus of $3.084 million.
After WSI had paid shareholders in May, there should be an about $1.5 million post-dividend surplus to be applied in a variety of ways, such as investment or debt reduction.
The board would be "very cautious" about the motivation of potential buyers of the companies in receivership but was happy with its relationship with the receiver and the inquiries to date.
"The board is very mindful of the 70 staff, many of whom have been with the company for nearly 20 years and that would certainly be one of the issues for the board - and, of course, our customer base," Mr Kirke said.
The company was initially set up in 1991 by the New Zealand Wool Board (it withdrew early in the company's history) and has evolved into a successful exporter of more than 50% of the nation's coarse wool clip.
Many of the senior management are shareholders.
