CF Industries Holdings Inc. said June 1 that Lynn White has been elected vice president, corporate development. He succeeds W. Anthony Will, who became vice president, manufacturing and distribution, earlier this year.
Prior to joining CF, White, 56, was the founder and managing director of Twemlow Group LLC, a consulting firm he established in 2008. Prior to founding Twemlow, he held a number of executive positions with Deere & Co, including a stint from 2005-2007 as president of John Deere Agri Services. Earlier, he was senior vice president, corporate development, for IMC Global Inc., which later merged with a unit of Cargill to become The Mosaic Co.
White earned his B.A. in History, with a minor in Economics, at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He also holds an MBA in Finance and Multinational Enterprise from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Graduate School of Business.
Truth Chemical has announced the hiring of Mark McCostlin as director, specialty products, effective June 1. Previously, he held the position of North American sales and marketing manager for Haifa NutriTech in Florida. He will be relocating to the Truth corporate offices in The Woodlands, Texas. Mark can be reached by cell phone at 317-379-1480, or mmccostlin@truthind.com.
Phosphate Holdings Inc., which owns Mississippi Phosphates, announced May 29 that former Senator Trent Lott, Sr. and Thomas Jagodinski were elected as members of the company’s board of directors effective May 19, 2009. Both are elected for one-year terms.
Lott, 67, has served as a partner in Breaux Lott Leadership Group, a consulting and lobbying firm, since January 2008. He was a member of the U.S. Senate from 1989 to 2007, and held the position of Senate Majority Leader from 1996-2001. He was in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973-1989.
Lott currently serves as a member of the board of EADS North America, which is the North American operations of EADS, the second largest aerospace and defense company in the world. Senator Lott holds a B.S. degree in public administration and a J.D. from the University of Mississippi.
Jagodinski, 52, has been a private investor since July 2007. He was employed by Delta and Pine Land Co., a cottonseed breeding, producing, and marketing company, from 1991 until July 2007, when Monsanto Co. acquired the company. While at Delta, he served as president, CEO, and a member of the board from 2002 until July 2007. Jagodinski currently serves as a member of the boards of Solutia, Inc. and Lindsay Corp. He has a B.S. degree in accounting from the University of Mississippi.
New officers were elected to the International Plant Nutrition Institute’s board of directors May 24. Mike Wilson, Agrium Inc. president and CEO, was elected IPNI board chairman for a two-year term. Joachim Felker, K+S Aktiengesellschaft board member is the new IPNI vice chairman. Stephen Wilson, CF Industries Holdings Inc. president and CEO, was re-elected chair of the finance committee.
Patricio Contesse, SQM president and CEO, concluded his term as IPNI board chairman and was recognized for his outstanding leadership and service in that role since 2006.
The Nutrients for Life Foundation has announced the selection of Joan Kyle as its first regional representative. Kyle, a veteran of the agribusiness community and avid education volunteer, will provide educational, grassroots, and public awareness services in the state of Florida. Her primary emphasis will be working with educators in the school system in the promotion of the Foundation’s plant and soil science curriculum, Nourishing the Planet in the 21st Century; working with industry members in sharing the Foundation’s core programs; and enhancing community relations. Kyle began her duties June 1. The regional representative position in Florida is the first of its kind, made possible with support from Agrium Inc. The Foundation said the industry recognized a need for more “on-the-ground” educational resources and created the regional representative program. If the Florida position proves effective, the Foundation may consider hiring a second regional representative next year.
Ajay Shriram, chairman and senior managing director of DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd. (DSCL), was elected president of the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) on May 27, 2009, during IFA’s Annual Conference in Shanghai. He takes over from Thorleif Enger, formerly from Yara International ASA, who remains a member of IFA’s executive management group as immediate past president. Shriram is also a director of the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI).
Shriram is also chairman of DSCL’s subsidiary companies, DSCL Energy Services Co. Ltd. and Shriram Bioseed Genetics India Ltd. He is also a member of the Rabobank International Asian Food & Agribusiness Advisory Board.