Nutrien changed its president

Canadian fertilizers producer Nutrien announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Mayo Schmidt as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mayo Schmidt succeeds Chuck Magro, who is stepping down from his management and Board role at the company to pursue new opportunities. With Mayo Schmidt’s new role, Nutrien is also proud to announce that Russell Girling, former President and CEO of TC Energy, has been named Chair of the Nutrien Board of Directors. Chuck Magro will be available to the corporation until May 16, 2021 to facilitate 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 Russell 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,” said Mayo Schmidt. “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.”

Mayo Schmidt brings over 30 years of agricultural business experience to his leadership of Nutrien. He joined the Agrium board of directors in 2012 and has served as Chair of Nutrien’s Board of Directors since May 2019. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Viterra, a Canadian globally diversified agri-business company that delivered agricultural and food ingredient products to customers in over 50 countries. He also held senior positions in other agricultural focussed companies such as ConAgra Grain, Canada and General Mills, Mayo Schmidt was also President and Chief Executive Officer of Hydro One, Canada’s largest utility. He serves as a member of Washburn University’s Board of Trustees and Harvard’s Kennedy School’s Private and Public, Scientific, Academic and Consumer Food Policy Group and as a mentor for Catalyst Women on Board. Mayo Schmidt’s passion for agriculture started as a young boy, working on their fourth-generation family wheat and dairy farm in western Kansas.

Nutrien is the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services, playing a critical role in helping growers increase food production in a sustainable manner. It produces and distributes 27 million tonnes of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products world-wide.