Agriculture technology firm Syngenta Group appointed Jeff Rowe as chief executive officer on Friday, replacing current CEO Erik Fyrwald, effective January 1.
Rowe, 50, the newly appointed executive chief has been with the company for about seven years, currently heading Syngenta Crop Protection unit. The company said Rowe executed a successful turnaround of seed business prior to taking the new role. He served for over two decades at DuPont Pioneer, agriculture product and seed production firm in various leadership positions.
Fyrwald, 64, is retiring from his role after working with Syngenta since 2016. During his tenure, he led the firm in taking important decisions and oversaw the acquisition by ChemChina, a chemical company, the formation of the Syngenta Group. Previously, he was the CEO of a global chemical distributor, Univar Solutions for about four years.
The company also appointed Hengde Qin as financial chief replacing Chen Lichtenstein, effective December 1. Lichtenstein is stepping down to pursue other business leadership opportunities.
“As a superb operational leader and strategist, able to deliver results through teamwork while building the business for tomorrow, Jeff has played a significant role in the growth of Syngenta Group,” said Fyrwald.
“I have worked with Jeff for many years and am delighted that he will lead Syngenta Group as it continues its mission to help farmers feed the world while addressing climate change.” He added.
