Syngenta Group appoints Daniel Vennard as Chief Sustainability Officer

On May 20, Syngenta Group announced that Daniel Vennard, former Global Director at the World Resources Institute, will join as Chief Sustainability Officer on July 26, 2021. He will be based in Basel, Switzerland, reporting to CEO Erik Fyrwald.

As Chief Sustainability Officer, Vennard will help Syngenta Group continue strengthening its ability to help farmers practice regenerative agriculture. He will be responsible for developing and implementing Syngenta Group’s sustainability and net-zero goals. He will also work with the business units to fully integrate sustainability into the Syngenta Group’s business strategy. Daniel and his team will build on the company’s Good Growth Plan, which is a bold set of commitments that provides a pathway towards regenerative agriculture to better enable food systems to work in harmony with nature.

“Sustainability is at the heart of the Syngenta Group. We believe agricultural innovations can contribute to the most pressing challenges facing the planet, including climate change, soil health, loss of biodiversity and food security.” said Erik Fyrwald, CEO of Syngenta Group. “Daniel’s creativity and remarkable expertise in sustainability will help us further advance regenerative farming practices and help mitigate the harmful effects of global warming. I’m looking forward to Daniel helping us achieve our ambitious goals. I also thank Petra Laux for her great work as acting Chief Sustainability Officer.”

Daniel brings extensive experience developing sustainability strategies and launching global sustainability programs that deliver growth and impact. In his most recent position as Global Director at the World Resources Institute, he founded the Better Buying Lab and brought together a team of scientists who developed, tested and scaled innovations that helped consumers choose sustainable plant-based food. He also launched the Cool Food Pledge, which helped more than forty organizations reduce their food-related emissions.

Prior to joining the World Resources Institute Daniel worked for fifteen years at Mars Incorporated and Procter and Gamble in corporate strategy, sustainability and marketing. (He holds a Bachelor of Science in Plant Sciences from Sheffield University, UK.)

“I am honored to join the Syngenta team and further build on their sustainability work,” said Vennard. “This is a pivotal moment in agriculture. By establishing more productive and climate- friendly agricultural products and services, we have an immense opportunity to create a more sustainable future for generations to come.”

Petra Laux, who served as acting Chief Sustainability Officer and Head Business Sustainability EAME, will take on the role of Head of Business Sustainability for Syngenta Crop Protection. In her new role, Petra will be responsible for integrating sustainability into all aspects of Syngenta’s Crop Protection strategy as well as crop protection regulatory affairs, product stewardship and implementation of public and government affairs globally. Petra will report to Jon Parr, President of Syngenta Crop Protection.