People

People

Hans Vrijenhoef has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Proton Ventures with immediate effect. He will continue to serve as non-executive chairman of the management board for at least another three years to support the growth of the existing business of green ammonia production technologies. Paul Baan succeeded Hans Vrijenhoef as of April 1st, 2021. Baan has served in leadership positions at Ørsted and EON. He is an engineer by background who has a strong understanding of Power to X technology and business cases.

Vrijenhoef said: “I am very happy that Paul is joining Proton Ventures as CEO and that we can work together on the energy transition. I am highly confident that under his leadership, Proton Ventures will prosper long into the future. His appointment demonstrates the strength of Proton Ventures’ innovative mindset and its thought leadership position in green ammonia production.”

“It has been an honour and a pleasure for me to lead Proton Ventures during the last 20 years… I look forward to continuing to engage with all stakeholders in the coming years to further drive innovation and execute engineering projects related to green ammonia production and storage. I also look forward to continuing to dedicate my time and my experience to the recently announced TransHydrogen Alliance which we created together with VARO Energy, Trammo and Port of Rotterdam to announce our joint ambition to import up to 2 million tons per year of green ammonia from solar and wind rich areas to Rotterdam.”

Chuck Magro is to step down as CEO of Nutrien Ltd, the world’s largest fertilizer maker, in order to pursue new opportunities. The company has named Mayo Schmidt its new chief executive officer. Magro will be “available to” the company until May 16th to facilitate a smooth transition, according to a Nutrien statement.

“I look forward to leading the continued execution of Nutrien’s strategy and driving industry-leading performance across all our lines of business,” Schmidt said in a statement. “Over the coming weeks, I will be connecting with our employees, valued customers and shareholders to continue building our positive momentum and our focus on advancing sustainable solutions to feed a growing planet.”

Schmidt was named chair of Nutrien’s board of directors in May 2019 and will remain on the board. He previously served as president and CEO of Viterra and Hydro One Ltd. Russ Girling, the former president and CEO of TC Energy, was named the new chair of Nutrien’s board of directors.

Nutrien was created in 2018 after the merger of Agrium and PotashCorp. Magro, who was the CEO of Agrium at the time of the merger, was named Nutrien’s CEO.

“I am very proud of the strong foundation we have built at Nutrien over the last several years,” Magro said, who also resigned from Nutrien’s board of directors. “I am grateful for the dedication of our employees, and the important partnerships we have forged with our customers and stakeholders. I have enjoyed every moment of my time at Nutrien, and I wish the company and its people continued success.”

Fertilizer Canada has appointed Karen Proud as President and Chief Executive Officer. Proud assumes leadership from Garth Whyte, who has served as President since 2015. Whyte announced his retirement in the summer of 2020. Prior to joining Fertilizer Canada, Proud was the COO of Food Health and Consumer Products of Canada.

“Fertilizer Canada has a well-earned reputation in both programming and advocacy initiatives,” said Proud. “Having worked for a number of manufacturing and retail sectors I am excited to take on this new role aimed at advancing the safe, secure, and sustainable production and use of fertilizer in Canada and around the world.”

“Karen’s experience in association management and regulatory negotiation will ensure a continued focus on our industry’s priorities, including achieving federal recognition for 4R Nutrient Stewardship as the national standard for nutrient management and the industry’s codes of practice as the standard in product safety, as outlined in our Strategic Plan 2025,” said Brian Markand, Chair, Board of Directors, Fertilizer Canada. “As a proven leader and relationship-builder, in combination with her extensive background and knowledge of government decision making, Karen will further develop and build upon Fertilizer Canada’s foundation of achieving fair, competitive and science-based policies.”