Innovation Council

Nufarm has an Innovation Advisory Council which is responsible for reviewing and assessing innovation opportunities and their potential benefit for Nufarm and for our customers.

The Council meet to discuss ongoing innovation projects and will come together to provide insights and recommendations on any new opportunity as they emerge. They address the technical details of the concept discussing the key proof points and performance levels necessary for success along with the resources, cost and time involved to take the concept from development stage to first sales. They also provide an assessment on the suitability of the product for Nufarm and the value that it will bring to the business.

It is comprised of three external industry experts, David Jones, Tim Hassinger and David Lawrence and three Nufarm Executives; Rico Christensen (Portfolio Solutions) James Barkhouse (Customer and Commercial); and Mike Pointon (Transformation Lead)

Dr. David Jones

Dr. David Jones is a member of the Nufarm board and chairman of the innovation sub-committee. He graduated from the University of Stirling with a PhD in Agricultural Economics. Dr Jones has held Chairman and Director roles in large global agricultural businesses. His experience includes as Head of Business Development at Syngenta and former Chairman of Zeneca China, Arysta Life Science, and Plant Impact. David has broad executive leadership experience in operations, strategy, mergers and acquisitions and intellectual property in multiple jurisdictions including Asia, Latin America, Europe and the United States. He is Chairman of Enko Chem Inc and Big Sis and a former Chairman of the Commercial Advisory Board.

Tim Hassinger

Tim has an extensive career in agribusiness spanning executive roles in commercial, supply chain, marketing and management positions in the U.S. and China. Tim was with Dow Agro Sciences for 33 years including being the President and CEO and, most recently, he was President and CEO of the Lindsay Corporation. He currently serves on the Board of Intelinair and AGDATA. In addition, he is on the USDA Agriculture Policy Advisory Committee and the Centre on Global Food and Agriculture Advisory Board.

Prof. David Lawrence

David served as a Non-Executive Director at Syngenta from 2009 to 2017 and was Head of Research & Development from 2002 to 2008. He also served as Head International R&D Projects for Zeneca Agrochemicals, having previously held several senior scientific roles.

James Barkhouse

James is an experienced executive with strong commercial leadership and deep industry experience. He joined Nufarm from Syngenta where he held senior roles across Australia, Asia and Europe, including as Global Leader for Commercial Excellence. He has an impressive record of driving sales growth and market development initiatives that deliver excellent returns through a strategic investment in capability and platforms that enable the business.

Rico Christensen

Rico joined Nufarm in mid-2021 with more than two decades of business leadership experience in the agricultural sector. Most recently he was with UPL as their Chief Marketing Officer and Arysta Life-Science as President, North America & ANZ. He was with Cheminova for 18 years making his way to the role of President and CEO, North America.

Mike Pointon

Mike has had an extensive agri-business career which includes close to two decades with Nufarm. He has wide international experience in senior management, marketing and product development roles.

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