Syngenta has announced the appointment of Louise Fresco, president of Wageningen University and Research, to the board of Syngenta as an independent, non-executive director. Fresco’s experience combines a long academic career with policy development in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The appointment comes just days after the company announced it will accelerate its innovation to address the increasing challenges faced by farmers around the world including climate change, soil erosion and biodiversity loss, as well as changing consumer expectations and views on agricultural technology. Syngenta says it has made this commitment in response to listening sessions held at the end of 2018, during which there was a clear call for innovation and more action to address these challenges. 

Fresco spent 10 years of her career as Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN. She is a member of eight scientific academies, and has served on the boards of Rabobank and Unilever. Her book "Hamburgers in Paradise, the stories behind the food we eat," has been translated into 13 languages. 
 

Fresco has published multiple books and writes a bi-weekly column in NRC, the leading evening newspaper of The Netherlands. She has also presented a six-part documentary on food and development for Dutch public television, and in 2009 she was a speaker at the TED Conference in Palm Springs, California. 

Source: Syngenta Global April 15, 2019 news release