Jun 18, 2020

Syngenta Group launch puts in place unification of business arms

Syngenta Group Co. Ltd., announced June 18 the official launch of Syngenta Group, a new global leader in agricultural science and innovation. Under a single entity, it unites the strengths of Syngenta AG, headquartered in Switzerland, ADAMA, based in Israel, and the agricultural businesses of Sinochem, based in China.

According to a news release, the new entity, headquartered in Switzerland, has 48,000 employees in more than 100 countries, and had sales of US$23 billion in 2019.

From its inception, Syngenta Group is the global market leader in crop protection, the global number three in seeds, the market leader in fertilizer in China and, with its Modern Agriculture Platform (MAP) Farmer Solution Centers, the leading agriculture services provider in China. It offers comprehensive agronomic solutions and digital agricultural services.

With 15 key production sites the group’s mission is to deploy scientific innovations, technologies, and services to help farmers sustainably provide the world with better food, feed, fiber and fuel, while conserving resources and protecting the environment.

Under its new structure, the organization encompasses four business units:

• Syngenta Crop Protection – led by Jon Parr based in Basel, Switzerland
• Syngenta Seeds –  led by Jeff Rowe based in Chicago, USA
• ADAMA – led by Ignacio Dominguez based in Airport City, Israel
• Syngenta Group China – led by Hengde Qin based in Shanghai, China

Erik Fyrwald, formerly CEO of Syngenta AG, becomes Syngenta Group CEO; Chen Lichtenstein, formerly CEO of ADAMA becomes Syngenta Group CFO; Steve Landsman becomes Syngenta Group General Counsel, and Laure Roberts becomes Syngenta Group Chief Human Resources Officer.

“I am pleased that our new organization is ready to bring the diversity and expertise of our teams to deliver the broadest range of sustainable and competitive products,” said Fyrwald. “Customers will continue to get the full attention of the businesses as they currently serve them, but the capabilities each brings will be enhanced where it adds value by collaboration across the Syngenta Group.”

Each of the companies incorporated into Syngenta Group have a long history of accomplishment, reaching back over 250 years. In addition to Switzerland, Israel and China, the Group has deep roots in many other countries, including the USA where the global Syngenta Seeds business and R&D are headquartered, Brazil and UK. The Syngenta Group is among the most diverse businesses in the world.

The new Group places a high value on ethics and integrity, seeking to create value for all its stakeholders – farmers, employees, suppliers and society. “Our sustainability as an enterprise depends on the health of the soil and the environment as a whole,” said Fyrwald. “We measure our success not just by our business performance, but by the benefits we bring to farming and the environment.”

The people of Syngenta Group are sharply aware that today’s farmers face a wide range of challenges, including climate change, soil degradation, plant diseases and the urgency to achieve greater sustainability and biodiversity. The Group’s businesses offer the tools required to address these challenges – enabling them, despite weather extremes, to grow better crops reliably and economically and to feed the world safely, sustainably and with respect for the planet.

The Group’s approach is embodied in its Good Growth Plan, in which its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations is firmly anchored. In late June 2020, Syngenta Group will announce its new Good Growth Plan. This will be the Group’s first major initiative after its launch and will address the shifting challenges faced by farmers around the world and society’s changing expectations of agricultural technology and sustainability.

Sustainability and collaboration are also at the heart of Syngenta Group’s research and development activities. At more than 100 R&D sites, the Group’s chemists and biologists collaborate extensively with growers, academics, NGOs, businesses and regulators with the goal of providing seed, crop protection and nutrition innovations and technologies capable of sustainably ensuring food security and enhancing global prosperity.