People

People

Mayo Schmidt, the former chair of Nutrien, became its president and CEO on 18th April. He succeeds Chuck Magro who is stepping down to pursue new opportunities outside the company. In a coordinated move, Nutrien also announced that Russ Girling, TC Energy’s former president and CEO, would replace Mr Schmidt as the new chair of its board. Mr Magro made himself available to Nutrien until 16th May to allow a smooth transition.

“Mayo is a remarkable leader who is committed to our values of safety and integrity, our purpose and our strategy focussed on sustainably feeding the world,” said Russ Girling. “Under his leadership, along with our deep and experienced executive leadership team and our 27,000 dedicated employees, the board is confident the company is well positioned to continue to grow and create enduring shareholder value.”

“The outlook for our business is exceptionally strong,” Mayo Schmidt replied. “I look forward to leading the continued execution of Nutrien’s strategy and driving industry-leading performance across all our lines of business. Over the coming weeks, I will be connecting with our employees, valued customers and shareholders to continue building our positive momentum and our focus on advancing sustainable solutions to feed a growing planet.”

Mr Schmidt brings over 30 years of agricultural business experience to Nutrien. He joined Agrium’s board of directors in 2012 and has served as Nutrien’s chair since May 2019. He was previously president and CEO of Viterra Inc, a diversified Canadian business that delivers agricultural and food ingredient products to customers in over 50 countries. He has also held senior positions in other agricultural companies such as ConAgra Grain and General Mills. Mr Schmidt was also president and CEO of Hydro One Limited, Canada’s largest utility. Mr Schmidt’s passion for agriculture started as a young boy, working on his family’s fourth-generation wheat and dairy farm in western Kansas.

Russ Girling thanked Chuck Magro for his leadership of Nutrien: “On behalf of the board of directors and everyone at Nutrien, I would like to thank Chuck for his contribution to our growth and success since he joined the company in 2009. We wish Chuck all the best in his future endeavours.”

Chuck Magro replied: “I am very proud of the strong foundation we have built at Nutrien over the last several years. I am grateful for the dedication of our employees, and the important partnerships we have forged with our customers and stakeholders. I have enjoyed every moment of my time at Nutrien, and I wish the company and its people continued success.”

Nutrien has reduced its board membership from the 12 to 11 directors following Chuck Magro’s resignation.

Fertilizer Canada has appointed Karen Proud as its president and CEO. She takes over from Garth Whyte who has served as president since 2015. Proud was previously the chief operating officer of Food Health and Consumer Products of Canada.

“Fertilizer Canada has a well-earned reputation in both programming and advocacy initiatives,” said Proud. “Having worked for a number of manufacturing and retail sectors I am excited to take on this new role aimed at advancing the safe, secure, and sustainable production and use of fertilizer in Canada and around the world.”

“Karen’s experience in association management and regulatory negotiation will ensure a continued focus on our industry’s priorities, including achieving federal recognition for 4R Nutrient Stewardship as the national standard for nutrient management and the industry’s codes of practice as the standard in product safety, as outlined in our Strategic Plan 2025,” said Brian Markand, chair of Fertilizer Canada’s board. “As a proven leader and relationship-builder, in combination with her extensive background and knowledge of government decision making, Karen will further develop and build upon Fertilizer Canada’s foundation of achieving fair, competitive and science-based policies.”

Tove Andersen, currently executive vice president (EVP) Yara Europe, has been appointed president and CEO of Tomra Systems ASA. She will move from Yara International to take up her new position by the 1st November at the latest.

“It’s been a privilege to follow Tove since making her part of our executive management team in 2016. I’d like to thank Tove for her significant contribution through more than two decades and wish her all the best in her new role in Tomra, a company which like Yara has sustainability at the core of its strategy,” said Svein Tore Holsether, Yara’s president and CEO.

Yara says it has begun the process of finding Ms Andersen’s successor.