People

Ken Seitz, Nutrien’s president and CEO, is the new chair of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA). He was elected during IFA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 14th May, held on the final day of its 2025 Annual Conference in Monaco. Mr Seitz succeeds Tony Will, President & CEO of CF Industries, following the end of his two-year tenure.

IFA also elected Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of Fertiglobe, as its new vice chair. He takes over from Raviv Zoller, ICL Group’s President & CEO. IFA members also elected seven new board directors at this year’s AGM.

• Elad Aharonson, ICL Group

• Guangliang (Gordon) He, Guizhou Phosphate Chemical Group

• Nishant Kanodia, Matix Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd

• Amit Lohia, Indorama Corporation

• Christian Meyer, K+S Aktiengesellschaft

• William (Tip) O’Neill, International Raw Materials

• Mikhail Rybnikov, PJSC PhosAgro

“I am delighted to welcome our newly elected Board Directors, whose expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to advance IFA’s mission of helping to feed the world sustainably,” said Alzbeta Klein, IFA’s CEO & director general. “I look forward to working closely with them in the months and years ahead.”

Ms Klein added: “I would also like to extend my warmest congratulations to Ken Seitz on being elected as IFA’s new Chair, and express my gratitude to Tony Will for his support and guidance over the past two years. His commitment to IFA and the industry has been greatly appreciated by us all.”

Dr Harald Schwager (65) was appointed chairman of the supervisory board of K+S at the company’s AGM on the 14th May. He succeeds Dr Andreas Kreimeyer. Dr Schwager and Dr Tilman Krauch (63) were both elected as new members of the supervisory board at the same AGM.

Dr Schwager has extensive board level experience at two global chemical companies. He is also a member of the German Federal Science and Humanities Council. Dr Tilman Krauch also has many years of experience as a board director of a global technology company.

To ensure continuity, the AGM extended the term of office of deputy supervisory board chairman Thomas Kölbl (62) until the 2029. Dr Rainer van Roessel’s (67) term of office was similarly extended to 2029 by shareholders at the AGM.

The board thanked outgoing Chairman Dr Andreas Kreimeyer for his dedicated work. He had been a member of the supervisory board for ten years, including serving as its chairman since 2017.

“You have been an important advisor to me,” said outgoing CEO Dr Burkhard Lohr. “The entire Board of Executive Directors has benefited from your many years of experience.”

Sailesh C Mehta, managing director of Deepak Fertilizers, is the new chairman of the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI), succeeding N Suresh Krishnan, managing director of Paradeep Phosphates Ltd.

Mr Mehta brings over 40 years of industry experience to the role. He previously served as chairman of the western region of FAI for more than five years. Sailesh is also the chairman and managing director of Mahadhan AgriTech Ltd, a subsidiary of Deepak Fertilizers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (DFPCL).

“I am truly privileged to serve as a bridge between government, industry, and farmers – acting as a catalyst to elevate Indian farmer and farm productivity on the world map,” Mr Mehta said.