On Sunday, April 18 Nutrien announced a new CEO and president for the world’s largest fertilizer company.
The news comes after Chuck Magro resigns from the company. Magro has been with Nutrien and its legacy companies since 2009. He was president of Agrium at the time of the merger with Potash Corp to form Nutrien.
In the company announcement, Magro said: “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. I look forward to working with Mayo over the coming weeks to support a seamless transition and to my next adventure.”
This news comes two months after Mike Frank, CEO of Nutrien’s retail business, left the company in February 2021.
In this transition time, Magro is available to the company until May 16, 2021. His resignation as CEO and president also includes resigning from the Nutrien board. The board was a 12-seat group, but it will reduce in size to 11.
Effective immediately as of Magro’s announcement, the Nutrien board of directors has appointed Mayo Schmidt as President and Chief Executive Officer.
“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,” said Russ Girling, former President and CEO of TC Energy, who has been newly named chair of the board of directors for Nutrien. “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.”
Schmidt has served as Nutrien’s chair of its board of directors since May 2019, and has a nearly 10-year history with the company having joined the Agrium board of directors in 2012.
In the company announcement Schmidt said: “The outlook for our business is exceptionally strong. 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.”
Schmidt has more than 30 years of experience in agribusiness. The company references his previous role as president and chief executive officer of Viterra Inc., a Canadian globally diversified agri-business, as well as roles at ConAgra Grain, Canada and General Mills, Inc. His career also includes having been president of chief executive officer of Hydro One Limited, Canada’s largest utility. Schmidt’s ag roots are working on his family’s fourth-generation wheat and dairy farm in western Kansas.
