Production Blog

Bayer announced several key leadership changes for its Crop Science Division on Wednesday, January 10. The company issued a release stating that the new Executive Leadership Team will "support the company to shape agriculture for farmers, consumers, and the plant, and to deliver against the ambition of becoming the leader in regenerative agriculture."

Brian Naber was appointed new commercial lead for North America. The position becomes effective March 1, 2024. He assumes the position from Jackie Applegate, who will be retiring from Bayer after 31 years with the company.

Naber currently serves as Head of the Region Asia Pacific for Crop Science, a position he's held since January 2022. He has been a member of the division's Executive Leadership Team since September 2022.
According to his online biography and LinkedIn profiles, Naber comes from a family of farmers and retains interest in a small farm.

Naber joined Monsanto Company in 1998 as sales representative in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. He held several marketing roles in U.S. corn, soybean and vegetables within Monsanto, including Vice President/ US Row Crops Commercial Operations lead.

After Bayer's acquisition of Monsanto, he moved to the Cluster Commercial Lead for Northern Europe based out of the Netherlands in November 2018, before assuming the role of Global Asset Management Insecticide Lead based in Monheim, Germany in June 2020 and then to the Asia-Pacific role based in Singapore in 2022.
Naber graduated with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Saint Louis University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management from Southwest Minnesota State University.

The move creates a domino effect of job repositioning. Malu Nechreiner, currently serving as Senior Bayer Representative and Country Division Head for Crop Science in Brazil, succeeds Naber in the Asian Pacific region.

Oliver Rittgen will serve as the division's new Chief Financial Officer. Sascha Israel has been appointed as Head of Product Supply. Amanda McClerren moves into the role of Chief Information Officer, Head of Digital Transformation and Information Technology. Jessica Christiansen assumes the position of Head of Crop Science Communications--she most recently led the division's Sustainability and Business Stewardship team.

In November, DTN reported that Bayer is considering restructuring its business. Read more about that here: https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Find more about Bayer's Crop Science leadership team here: https://www.bayer.com/…

Pamela Smith Can be reached at Pamela.smith@dtn.com

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