Mayo Schmidt has resigned as president and CEO of Nutrien with Ken Seitz, current executive vice president and CEO of potash, being promoted to the company’s interim CEO, a news release on Jan. 4 says.
“Nutrien has a talented and deep executive team, and we are confident that Ken Seitz and this team will continue to build on the organization’s record financial and operating performance,” Russ Girling, chair of the Nutrien board of directors, says in the release.
The release also says the board of directors will be working with an executive search firm to begin a global search to select a long-term CEO for the company. They will be considering both internal and external candidates.
“I look forward to working with the executive leadership team, our tremendous employees and the board of directors to execute on our plan, continue this exciting progression across our business to serve our stakeholders, and deliver on our commitment to advance sustainable solutions to feed a growing world,” Seitz says in the release.
Seitz joined Nutrien as executive vice president and CEO of potash in 2019. The release notes he brings over 25 years of global management experience working across more than 60 countries, with a deep background in the agriculture and mining sectors. He was a former president and CEO of Canpotex.
He has a bachelor of science in agriculture, a bachelor of engineering, and a master of business administration from the University of Saskatchewan, the release says. He is a professional engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan and is a professional agrologist with the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists. Seitz also holds a certificate in management from the Stern School of Business at New York University.
