Syngenta named Erik Fyrwald as new CEO

Syngenta announced recently the appointment of J. Erik Fyrwald, currently President and CEO of the U.S. chemistry distribution company Univar Inc., as Chief Executive Officer effective June 1. Erik succeeds John Ramsay who has been an interim CEO since November 2015.

Mr. Fyrwald spent 27 years at DuPont where he held positions of increasing responsibility in technology, manufacturing, sales and marketing, strategic planning and regional and global business unit leadership, including four years in Asia. In 2003, Mr. Fyrwald was named Group Vice President of DuPont Agriculture and Nutrition, which included the Pioneer Seed, DuPont Crop Protection Products and Solae Food Ingredients businesses. Mr. Fyrwald also served as Chairman of CropLife International for two years during this period.

In 2008, Mr. Fyrwald was named Chairman, President and CEO of Nalco, a leading global provider of Water Treatment and Oil & Gas products and services. In December 2011, Nalco was acquired by EcoLab. Mr. Fyrwald was President of EcoLab until May 2012, when he was appointed CEO of Univar, a leading global distributor of chemical products and provider of related services, including agricultural inputs.

Mr. Fyrwald serves on the boards of Eli Lilly and Company (including their Science and Technology Committee) and the Society of Chemical Industry. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.