The Canadian arm of crop biotech firm Syngenta has reorganized from the top as the parent company marries its worldwide seeds and crop protection operations into a single “crop-centric” business model.
Syngenta Canada on Tuesday announced it’s reorganized into the same model under Jay Bradshaw as president and Trevor Heck as head of marketing, merging Guelph-based Syngenta Crop Protection Canada and Arva, Ont.-based Syngenta Seeds Canada.
By “thinking holistically about the agronomics of farming, Syngenta will identify new opportunities to create value for partners, customers and growers,” Bradshaw said in a release.
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“For example, in the past, vulnerability to disease or environmental stress might have prevented bringing a specific hybrid to market,” he said.
“Now, if a crop protection or seed care product is identified that can help overcome that vulnerability, there is a new ability to improve both the product offering and bring the hybrid to market because you can leverage the science and technology in an integrated and more effective manner.
“This is not just about integrating the sales team or the commercial organization,” he said. “It is about the whole business orienting itself around this new mindset.”
Among other appointments Tuesday in Syngenta’s Canadian ranks, Duane Johnson will be head of the company’s Western Canada commercial unit, while David Stanley has been named to the same role for Eastern Canada. Scott Ewert was named as manager for seed care.
The Canadian company’s Swiss parent went public earlier this year with what it described as its “new integrated strategy.”
Syngenta “is focused upon the discovery and development of integrated solutions which go beyond the single product paradigm,” CEO Mike Mack said in a related release in June.
The company has operated under the Syngenta name worldwide since 2000, when pharmaceutical firms Novartis and AstraZeneca merged and spun off their agribusiness assets into one global entity.
