“Dr. Wagner will be remembered as an energetic and forward-looking leader, one who understood the importance of agronomic research, the fertilizer industry, and production agriculture,” said Dr. Terry L. Roberts, IPNI President. “He practiced and believed in the power of positive thinking and he leaves a great legacy in the many people whose lives he improved.” Dr. Wagner received his B.S. degree in Agronomy from Kansas State University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. In 1959 he joined the staff of the American Potash Institute (forerunner of PPI and IPNI) and became a vice president of the organization. Dr. Wagner remained active with many interests after retiring from PPI, including fulfilling a lifelong dream in developing a top quality herd of purebred cattle on his farm south of Atlanta. Additional details on Dr. Wagner’s accomplishments and honors can be found on the IPNI Web site at www.ipni.net.
Vale S.A. reports that Murilo Pinto de Oliveira Ferreira has been nominated to succeed Roger Agnelli as Vale’s CEO, effective May 22, 2011. The nomination was by Vale’s controlling shareholders and is still subject to approval by the board of directors. Ferreira, 58, has a degree in Business Administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) in São Paulo and a post-graduate degree in Business Administration from FGV in Rio de Janeiro, and an executive education program in M&A at the IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland. Murilo has more than 30 years of experience in the mining industry. He began work for Vale in 1998, acting in several senior management positions until his leave in 2008, when he was CEO of Vale Inco (currently Vale Canada) and Vale executive director of nickel and base metals sales.
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. announced that Douglas A. Hoadley has joined the company as Director, Agribusiness Analysis. He succeeds Glen N. Buckley, who retired in September 2010. In this position, Hoadley is responsible for leading the department that monitors the global agricultural and fertilizer market environment and provides data, insight, and analysis to internal and external constituents. Prior to joining CF Industries, Hoadley held executive positions with The Mosaic Company, serving as Vice President, Investor Relations from 2004 to 2007, and most recently as Director, Marketing. Prior to 2004, he held research, marketing, consulting, and economist positions with IMC Global, British Sulfur Consultants, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hoadley earned a B.S. in Agricultural Economics and Business at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He also holds an MBA from the George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
Laura Gagnon joined The Mosaic Co. as vice president, investor relations, in March. Mosaic says she is an accomplished financial executive who brings a wealth of IR experience to Mosaic, most recently as vice president – investor relations at Ameriprise, where she established the IR function upon the spinoff of Ameriprise from American Express. Prior to joining Ameriprise in 2005, Gagnon held a number of positions with The St. Paul Companies, Inc./Travelers. She is a graduate of Winona State University, has an MBA degree from Vanderbilt University, and holds a CFA designation.
Gagnon succeeds Christine Battist, who is moving on to anoth