My Next Chapter

As I embark on my next step with Syngenta Group, I have been reflecting on the last several years. It has been one of the greatest privileges of my career to lead our Seeds business.?

When I first joined Syngenta in 2016, this business was in a multi-year decline. People were discouraged about the state of the business and couldn’t see a pathway to success. The turnaround of the Seeds business and our journey required not only a cultural shift but a complete revamp of how we work with our customers. We quickly closed ineffective businesses, made multiple acquisitions in key growth markets, started a highly effective employee-led productivity initiative, greatly improved our internal processes, and took every opportunity to get closer to our farmer customers around the world. This commitment to putting the farmer first enabled us to create deep, long-lasting relationships that allowed to us to better understand their challenges and identify more opportunities where we could help them thrive. We expanded our geographic reach, global market share and the portfolio of seeds and biotechnology traits.

Today, we’ve become an innovation powerhouse, creating world-class technology and services. And we are playing a leading role in developing the next generation of seeds for the future of agriculture. I have had the great and distinct honor to work with some of the brightest, most talented and dedicated people in the industry, and I am enormously proud of all that we have accomplished together.?

I want to express my deep gratitude to the Seeds team. I want to thank our customers, partners and everyone on this exceptional team for an amazing journey over the past six years. I am also very excited for Justin Wolfe, who will move from his role as the Regional Director of North America Seeds to be my successor. When I first met Justin, I immediately knew he was a world-class leader who would have a huge impact on Syngenta Seeds. He is the ideal leader to continue to move the Seeds business forward.?

I am extremely excited to step in to lead Syngenta Crop Protection. Under the leadership of Jon Parr, the business has become a global leader in protecting crops and supporting plant health. Syngenta Crop Protection contributed $13.5 billion in annual sales in 2021 to Syngenta Group and maintained this momentum in the first quarter of 2022, with sales growing by 25 percent to $4.2 billion. That’s impressive. I am thankful for Jon’s leadership and congratulate him on a remarkable career.

Our Crop Protection business is the global market leader and a major driver of innovation, focused on the health of plants. We offer the industry’s broadest product portfolio, including a world-leading Biologicals business to provide farmers with more complementary product and technology choices to sustainably care for their crops. This business is a key driver of profit and growth within Syngenta Group and has infinite potential – specifically in developing products and services that help farmers address climate change and the growing food security crisis. I look forward to spending more time with our talented Crop Protection leadership team and meeting with the 17,000 colleagues around the world.

I have never been more confident in the immense potential and promise of Syngenta Group to transform agriculture. Much like our CEO Erik Fyrwald, I believe that regenerative agriculture is the next big transformation for our industry. Regenerative agriculture can not only lead to higher profitability for growers but also improve productivity while improving plant diversity and improving soil health.?

As a fifth-generation farmer, I consider myself lucky to work in an industry that I am so personally connected to. Given the global food crisis, agriculture’s relevance has never been more important. Food supply is not a given. Syngenta’s innovation holds great promise – now and for future generations – and I’m looking forward to continuing to build on my family’s legacy.