Agro Perspectiva

ChemChina and Sinochem announced that they are consolidating their agricultural assets into a new holding company Syngenta Group

08.01.2020 16:15 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — ChemChina and Sinochem announced that they are consolidating their agricultural assets into a new holding company that will be called Syngenta Group.

After a career spanning 26 years at Syngenta and legacy company, AstraZeneca, Mark Patrick, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and member of the Syngenta Executive Team since 2016, will be leaving the company at the end of January 2020.

Mark was appointed CFO in 2016 and played a key role during the ChemChina acquisition of Syngenta and subsequent financing arrangements. He was also responsible for transforming the Finance function and the establishment of Syngenta’s Digital strategy. During his career, Mark held several finance leadership roles across the business, working and living in both developed and emerging markets.

Chen Lichtenstein, current President and CEO of ADAMA, will be nominated CFO of the newly formed Syngenta Group. He will be based in Basel, Switzerland.

Chen joined ADAMA 14 years ago to head the company’s corporate development and capital market activities, followed by running the company’s Global Operations. He then went on to hold several key roles, including Deputy CEO in charge of China Integration, and President and CEO of ChemChina’s strategic business division — China National Agrochemical Corporation (CNAC), Syngenta Group’s parent company — before being appointed ADAMA CEO in 2014, leading the company to continuous strong performance and market share gains over the past 6 years. During these years, ADAMA successfully combined with a publicly traded company and is now listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Prior to joining ADAMA, Chen served as Executive Director of Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs in New York and London. He holds joint doctoral degrees from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and School of Law, and B.Sc. (Physics) and LL.B. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

On the announcement, Syngenta Group CEO Erik Fyrwald said: «I would like to thank Mark for his strong leadership and for his many outstanding contributions to Syngenta. During his time as CFO, he has transformed the Finance function of the organization, and played a crucial role during the ChemChina acquisition of Syngenta, and more recently, in the lead up to the establishment of the new Syngenta Group. I wish him every success for the future.

»I look forward to working with Chen as we form the Syngenta Group, and am confident that his broad experience and strategic thinking will further enhance our industry positioning and ability to deliver even greater value for farmers."

About Syngenta

Syngenta is one of the world’s leading agriculture companies. Our ambition is to help safely feed the world while taking care of the planet. We aim to improve the sustainability, quality and safety of agriculture with world class science and innovative crop solutions. Our technologies enable millions of farmers around the world to make better use of limited agricultural resources. With 28,000 people in more than 90 countries we are working to transform how crops are grown. Through partnerships, collaboration and The Good Growth Plan we are committed to improving farm productivity, rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities.