Chuck Magro was appointed as Corteva’s new CEO, effective Nov. 1. He will also join Corteva’s Board of Directors.
Magro previously served as CEO of Nutrien, an international fertilzer producer based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the Prairie Provinces.
He succeeds James C. Collins, Jr., who will work with Magro and will retire from Corteva at year-end. Corteva is based near Wilmington but has the bulk of its operations elsewhere.
“Corteva has established itself as the premier global agricultural technology company, and I am excited to build on the momentum Jim Collins and this terrific team have generated,” said Magro. “With an unparalleled tradition of innovation, exceptionally strong customer relationships, and sustainability at the core of its business, we have an incredible opportunity to accelerate Corteva’s growth and value creation. Corteva is ideally equipped to advance the transformation of agriculture, helping farmers become more productive and sustainable and enabling us to feed a growing population while finding new ways to protect the planet. I can’t wait to get started.”
Magro served as CEO of Nutrien from the company’s launch in 2018 until April 2021. Before that Magro served as CEO of Agrium, which merged with PotashCorp to create Nutrien.
Before his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Agrium in 2014, Mr. Magro held various other key leadership roles, including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Risk Officer, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, and Vice President of Manufacturing. He joined Agrium in 2009 following a career with NOVA Chemicals.
Magro serves an active role on the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. He was also vice-chairman of the International Fertilizer Association and past chair and board member of The Fertilizer Institute. He served as a Board Steward for the World Economic Forum’s Food Systems Initiative.
Magro holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Chemical Engineering) from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Windsor.
Corteva consists of the agribusiness operations of DuPont and Dow and was the driving force between the merger of Dow and DuPont and the three-way spin-off of the combined companies that included publicly-traded Corteva.
Corteva, like DuPont and Dow, struggled to realize an increase in shareholder value that was touted as the reason for the merger-spinoff.
Edward Breen, who helped engineer the merger spinoff with his counterpart at Dow, later took back the CEO’s post at DuPont after disappointing earnings.
An activist shareholder group earlier called for the ouster of Corteva CEO Collins, a veteran of DuPont. An agreement was reached with the group. Later, Collins announced his retirement, and the search was launched for a new CEO.
Corteva share prices have been climbing of late on expectations of higher earnings.
Corteva is saddled with DuPont’s pension system and has drawn fire from retirees for cutting some benefits.
The agriscience company was chosen to handle the obligation due to its potential for earnings growth. Company business include seeds and crop protection products. The company also offers technology services for farmers.
