On January 11, 2024, IFF announced the appointment of J. Erik Fyrwald to succeed Frank Clyburn as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and member of the IFF Board of Directors, effective Feb. 6, 2024. The company shared that Clyburn will work closely with Fyrwald throughout the transition, remaining with IFF until March 31, 2024, and further serving in an advisory capacity through December 2024.
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Fyrwald brings to IFF more than four decades of executive and operational experience driving innovation and profitable, sustainable growth at leading corporations in the nutrition, agriculture and chemicals industries. He most recently served as CEO of Syngenta, where he spearheaded the strategy that is said to have doubled the business and delivered exceptional shareholder value during his tenure. Before Syngenta, he served as CEO of Univar Solutions and Nalco, in addition to holding numerous global and regional executive leadership roles with DuPont, including in the company’s Agriculture and Nutrition business.
“We are delighted to welcome Erik to IFF’s Board and leadership team,” said board chair Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. “Erik’s exceptional track record, passion for successful execution, customer-centric mindset and highly complementary industry experience will be invaluable as we capitalize on the significant value creation opportunities ahead of us. The Board is confident that Erik is the right executive to shepherd IFF through its next chapter as we execute on our strategic plan with a focus on driving long-term, profitable growth.”
Ferguson continued, “On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Frank for his leadership and contributions to IFF. During his tenure, Frank played an instrumental role in strengthening our commercial execution and Research & Development initiatives, executing our portfolio optimization efforts and guiding IFF through the initial stages of our refreshed strategic plan. We wish him all the best as he leaves IFF to pursue outside interests.”
“I am thrilled to be joining the IFF team,” said Fyrwald. “I have been an admirer of IFF for many years, including when I was leading DuPont’s Agriculture and Nutrition business, and I’m excited to help advance its purpose of applying science and creativity for a better world. With its strong foundation, leading position across attractive categories and expansive global network, IFF remains at the forefront of bringing leading sustainable ingredient solutions to customers and communities globally. With strong progress made against IFF’s strategic priorities, I look forward to doubling down on execution to accelerate financial performance by building on the company’s innovation, commercial and productivity efforts, and continuing to strengthen its capital structure through portfolio optimization to drive value creation for all IFF stakeholders.”
