Syngenta appoints new chief operating officer

Syngenta announced that John Atkin, chief operating officer (COO), will retire from the company at the end of 2014 and will be succeeded by Jon Parr, who will assume responsibility for two of the company’s four regions: Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. North America and Asia Pacific will remain under the leadership of Davor Pisk, COO.

Jon Parr has worked for Syngenta and its legacy companies since 1987. He has broad experience across both crop protection and seeds including commercial and supply chain roles. From 2009 until the end of 2013 he was regional director for Europe, Africa and the Middle East where he successfully drove the integration of the business while achieving significant growth in sales and profitability, according to Syngenta. Since the beginning of 2014 he has been the head of global crops and assets, targeting the optimization of global crop and product platforms.

John Atkin is retiring after a 37-year career in agriculture, of which the last 25 have been with Syngenta and its legacy companies. He has been COO at Syngenta since the foundation of the company in 2000. Following his retirement from the Syngenta executive committee, he will join the board of the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, whose mission is to create value for resource-poor small farmers in developing countries. He will also pursue his farming interests in the United Kingdom and will continue as a non-executive director of the fresh fruit company Driscoll’s.

“John Atkin played a pivotal role in the creation of Syngenta by successfully merging two crop protection businesses to form a clear industry leader, the strength of which continues to be a cornerstone of our integrated strategy,” says Mike Mack, chief executive officer. “I am confident that in Jon Parr we have found a strong successor to sustain our focus on growing the business and improving profitability.”