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Calgary-based Pieridae Energy Ltd says that it has hired a new Chief Operating Officer as from April 5th. Darcy Reding is a professional engineer with 30 years of experience in small and medium-sized private and public upstream oil and gas companies, 20 years of that in leadership roles. Reding spent the last decade at NAL Resources as VP of Operations and VP Operations & Geoscience. Prior to NAL, Reding held technical and leadership roles with Norcen Energy, Northrock Resources, Samson Exploration and Enterra Energy Trust.

“We are extremely pleased that Darcy has agreed to join our organisation,” said Pieridae CEO Alfred Sorensen. ”It is critical we have someone with senior-level experience running complex sour gas assets. Darcy brings us that skill set and is well positioned to take full advantage of the opportunities Pieridae’s assets offer. We also needed someone with a proven record of building a resource base and economically bringing on new reserves that will be critical to filling our gas plants and delivering long-term success. Darcy has previously managed a billion-dollar multi-year program to successfully grow production volumes.”

Chuck Magro is to step down as CEO of Nutrien Ltd, the world’s largest fertilizer maker, in order to pursue new opportunities. The company has named Mayo Schmidt its new chief executive officer. Magro will be “available to” the company until May 16th to facilitate a smooth transition, according to a Nutrien statement.

“I look forward to leading the continued execution of Nutrien’s strategy and driving industry-leading performance across all our lines of business,” Schmidt said in a statement. “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.”

Schmidt was named chair of Nutrien’s board of directors in May 2019 and will remain on the board. He previously served as president and CEO of Viterra and Hydro One Ltd. Russ Girling, the former president and CEO of TC Energy, was named the new chair of Nutrien’s board of directors.

“Mayo is a remarkable leader who is committed to our values of safety and integrity, our purpose and our strategy focused on sustainably feeding the world,” Girling said. “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.”

Nutrien was created in 2018 after the merger of Agrium and PotashCorp. Magro, who was the CEO of Agrium at the time of the merger, was named Nutrien’s CEO.

“I am very proud of the strong foundation we have built at Nutrien over the last several years,” Magro said, who also resigned from Nutrien’s board of directors.

“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.”

The company also announced it is reducing the size of its board of directors from 12 to 11 with Magro’s resignation from the board.

Fertilizer Canada has appointed Karen Proud as President and Chief Executive Officer. Proud assumes leadership from Garth Whyte, who has served as President since 2015. Whyte announced his retirement in the summer of 2020. Prior to joining Fertilizer Canada, Proud was the COO 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, Board of Directors, Fertilizer Canada. “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.”