Global Leadership Team 

Jeff Rowe was appointed CEO of Syngenta Group in January 2024. Previously, he served as President of Syngenta Crop Protection from July 2022 to December 2023 and President of Syngenta Seeds from 2016 to June 2022. Before joining Syngenta Group, Jeff Rowe served as Vice President, Strategic Services and Planning at DuPont Pioneer from 2015 to 2016 and sat on the company’s leadership team. He was Regional Director for DuPont Pioneer Europe from 2011 to 2015, Vice President Biotech Affairs and Regulatory from 2008 to 2011, and Corporate Counsel from 2001 to 2008. He started his career with Pioneer in 1995 in Supply Management and is a former board member of Wayne Farms LLC.

Jeff Rowe has a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State University, a Juris Doctorate from Drake Law School, and a Global Executive MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and the London School of Economics.

Prior to becoming the Chief Financial Officer, Hengde Qin was the Chief Human Resources Officer of Syngenta Group. Previously, he was the President of Syngenta Group China. Before joining Syngenta Group he held the positions of Deputy Chief Accountant of Hubei Hongqi Cable Co. Ltd., CFO of Guotou Yuanyi Industrial Co. Ltd., and Deputy Manager of the Investment Management department of Delong International Strategic Investment Co. Ltd. He joined Sinochem International in July 2004 as Head of the Business Development Department, and was later promoted to CFO, Deputy General Manager, then Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer. Since 2016, he has served as Executive Director and CEO of Sinofert Holding Limited and Executive Director of China National Seeds Group, as well as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Win-all Hi-tech Seed Co. Ltd., and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jiangsu Yangnong Chemical Co. Ltd.

Hengde Qin graduated from the East China Engineering Institute of Technology, majoring in economy and management with a bachelor’s degree in Engineering. He also holds a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and an MBA from the China Europe International Business School.

Prior to his appointment as Group General Counsel at Syngenta Group, Lars Benecke was Global Head of Law, Patents, Compliance of the combined Bayer Crop Science-Monsanto business, leading an international team located in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America. He previously also served as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer for the Bayer Group in the United States.

He is a native of Germany and holds degrees from the University of Cologne, the European University Institute in Florence and a PhD, Doctorate in Law from the University of Bielefeld. He obtained a Master of Laws, LLM, at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to being certified as an attorney in Germany, he is licensed in New York and was licensed as in-house attorney in Pennsylvania during his time in the US. 
 

Caroline Barth joined Syngenta Group as Chief Human Resources Officer in January 2024. She is responsible for leading the Group's people strategy, talent development, and organizational culture.

Caroline brings over 25 years of international experience in driving culture transformation and growth. Prior to joining Syngenta, she was the Chief Human Resources Officer and Member of the Executive Committee at Lonza Group. She also held leadership roles at Novartis, including Global Head of Human Resources, Pharma division, interim Global Head of Pharma Strategy, and Head of Human Resources for central and eastern Europe.

Caroline has a successful track record in driving change and growth, translating business strategy into operational and financial results, and fostering a culture of inclusion and diversity. She received a Master of Business Administration from the Open University, Brussels, in 2003 and a Bachelor in European Business from the University of Sunderland in 1995.

Prior to becoming Executive Vice President, Sustainability and Corporate Affairs in November 2023, Alexandra Brand led one of Syngenta Group’s largest and most profitable businesses as the Crop Protection Regional Director for EAME.

From 2018 – 2020, Alexandra Brand was Chief Sustainability Officer of Syngenta Group where she led the newly created Business Sustainability Group to evolve existing sustainability initiatives including The Good Growth Plan and to drive forward the company’s sustainability agenda. Alexandra joined Syngenta in late 2015 as Regional Director of Syngenta’s crop protection and seed operations across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Before joining Syngenta, Alexandra held various positions in the BASF Group, including senior vice president of its global Animal Nutrition business unit, vice president of the Global Marketing Pharma Ingredients unit as well as chief of staff for BASF’s chief executive officer. Alexandra gained international experience through her role as director of BASF’s Sub Regional Operating Manager Intermediates in South Asia, with its headquarters in Mumbai, India.

Alexandra studied chemistry at the Technische Universität in Darmstadt, Germany, from 1990 to 1998 and completed her studies with a doctorate.

Bringing nearly 30 years of agriculture industry experience, Justin has been serving as the North America Regional Director for Syngenta Seeds since 2020 and is currently located in Chicago, Illinois.

Justin joined Syngenta in September 2018, where he led the company’s Europe, Africa and Middle East (EAME) seeds business. During his tenure, he successfully transformed the organization into a customer-focused, dedicated seed organization with strong fundamental growth.

Prior to Syngenta, Justin held various roles with Monsanto, including Vice President of Marketing (Europe and Middle East), Managing Director & Commercial Vice President (East Europe), and Europe & Middle East Commercial Operations Vice President. He moved to Europe in 2012, where he lived in three countries (Hungary, Ukraine and Switzerland), before returning to the U.S. in 2020.

Justin has had a successful track record and experience in P&L and general management, commercial operations, marketing, strategy, licensing and M&A. He is a transformational leader with a strength in developing people and teams. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Montana State University in 1993 and an Executive Master of International Business from Saint Louis University in 2008.

Steven Hawkins has spent his entire career in agriculture and held numerous positions across the Syngenta Group globally. In his last two roles at ADAMA, he was President and Chief Executive Officer since 2024, and Senior Vice President Americas, responsible for ADAMA’s North American Ag business, Latin America, as well as the Consumer and Professional (Non-Crop) businesses globally since 2021.

Previously, he had already worked with Syngenta in the role of Regional Director for Syngenta (Crop Protection and Seeds) in  Europe, Africa, Middle-East (EAME), as well as in Asia Pacific. In both these complex regions, Steven strongly connected with local cultures and agricultural and business practices. Together with highly diverse and international leadership teams, he led the implementation of new differentiated Go-To-Market and customer innovation strategies, yielding above-market financial growth in sales and profitability. 

Steven began his career in sales and agronomy with GROWMARK in Canada before joining one of Syngenta’s legacy companies, ICI Canada more than 3 decades ago. He held senior roles with the company in multiple countries and product lines, including Vice President of Sales, CP & Seeds USA, Vice President of Commercial Operations for NA Corn & Soya Seeds, and President for Japan and South Korea.

Steven holds a Diploma in Agriculture and an MBA in Agriculture and Food, both from the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and has a bachelor’s degree in Administrative Studies from Toronto’s York University. 

To this day Steven maintains a family farm with his wife in his native Canada. In his free time, Steven enjoys playing ice hockey, skiing, hiking, boating, fishing and traveling.

Find out more about Steven

Gaël Hili was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of ADAMA in October 2024. Previously, he served as Head of Europe for Syngenta Crop Protection and Seeds Field Crops where he shaped and implemented a new operating model that repositioned the critical role innovation plays in supporting sustainable agriculture. Gaël joined Syngenta in 2017 as Head Europe East in Moscow (Russia), where he and the team grew market share across both the Seeds and Crop Protection businesses. In 2020 he then became Seeds Regional Director for Europe Africa and Middle East (EAME), leading the business to three consecutive years of profit growth.

Prior to joining Syngenta, Gaël was Global Marketing Director at The Dow Chemical Company where he was Global Marketing Director, having spent 14 years with Dow AgroSciences in senior leadership roles in operations and commercial in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Gaël earned his master’s in mechanical engineering from Université de Technologie de Compiègne (France).

Gaël has lived and worked in nine different countries on three continents and speaks five languages. During his free time, Gaël enjoys long-distance open water swimming.

Fu Su joined as President, Syngenta Group China, as of December 22, 2023. He brings 23 years of agriculture industry leadership experience at Sinochem International to this role.

Since December 2022, Fu Su served as the Director of Production and Operations at Sinochem Holdings, where he was responsible for procurement, production, logistics, and sales and marketing management systems. He was also in charge of developing long-term strategic partnerships with some of the world’s leading multinational companies.

Prior to that, Fu Su was a Vice President of the Polymer Additives Business Unit, where he served customers globally.  In addition, he was CEO of Sennics, a Sinochem International company. In this role, Fu Su oversaw the strategic development, operation and management of Sennics, a leading provider of polymer additives in over 50 countries.

Fu Su received his bachelor’s degree in economics with a major in international trade from the Beijing Wuzi University in 1995. He successfully completed the executive leadership program at the University of Cambridge in November 2023.