September 2026 was a busy month for people news across the agriculture industry, including from major agrichemical players, technology providers, and distributors.
In the Sept. 2026 edition of AgNavigator’s Ag movers & shakers column, ag suppliers Adama and Rovensa Next and agriculture tech company Ever.Ag top the monthly round-up of people news with C-suite appointments, followed by the latest appointments from agtech incubator Reservoir and distributor Murphy Tractor.
Adama names CEO, CFO amid executive shuffle with Syngenta
Global crop protection company Adama named Zhigang Hao its next president and CEO, effective Nov. 1, and its next CFO will be Sammy Leibowitz, effective Oct. 1.
Hao assumes the role from outgoing CEO Gaël Hili, who will become the president of seeds at Syngenta following his departure and becomes chairman of Adama’s boards. Hao joins the CEO role following a stint at animal nutrition and specialty chemical company Adisseo.
Leibowitz re-joins Adama, following a stint as Syngenta’s global head of performance acceleration. Previously, he worked for more than 13 years with Adama in various senior corporate development, finance and strategy roles.
“Dr. Hao brings deep global, operational and transformation experience that is highly relevant to Adama’s next phase of delivering sustainable, profitable growth, while Sammy combines extensive financial and strategic experience with a deep understanding of Adama, its people and its business. I am confident their leadership will help Adama build on the progress already made and continue delivering against Adama’s ambitions,” Hengde Qin, CEO of Syngenta Group, said in a press release.
Ever.Ag appoints CEO, following C-suite changes
Ag technology and data company Ever.Ag appointed Rhonda Bassett-Spiers to the role of CEO, succeeding Scott Sexton who served in the role for more than three decades.
Bassett-Spiers has more than 25 years of experience scaling technology companies, having served as the CEO for food supply chain software company iTradeNetwork and AI-based fintech company StatementIQ. Sexton will stay on a strategic advisor to Ever.Ag.
The CEO appointment follows several executive leadership changes, including the appointment of Paul Crist and Troy Meyers to the role of chief revenue office and chief customer officer roles, respectively.
“Ever.Ag has deep industry expertise, longstanding customer relationships, and a unique position across the agricultural value chain. We have an exciting opportunity to combine that expertise with software, data, analytics, and AI to help farmers, producers, processors, cooperatives, and agribusinesses operate more effectively and make better decisions. I’m excited to partner with our customers and our team as we build on that foundation and invest in the next generation of solutions for agriculture,” Bassett-Spiers said in a press release.
Rovensa Next makes COO change
Rovensa Next is reinforcing the company’s growth strategy by appointing Javier de Benito to the role of chief operating officer. In this role, he will oversea the customer, industrial, supply and operations.
“I am very pleased to welcome Javier to Rovensa Next at a key moment for our organization. Operational excellence is central to how we grow as a global company while maintaining strong local execution. Javier’s experience will help us further develop our capabilities and ensure we deliver an unmatched service to our customers worldwide,” said Ignacio Domínguez, chairman and CEO of Rovensa, said in a press release.
Reservoir expands executive team, adding head of external affairs
Reservoir Farms announced that Christine Birdsong has joined the company as the head of external affairs, following her tenure as Undersecretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
In her capacity as the second-ranking official for CDFA, Birdsong was a voice on agricultural innovation, farm-to-school programs, food safety, and sustainable pest management and attended trade missions to Japan and the Philippines.
Prior to her government appointment, she served as senior VP, general counsel, and director of people and culture for The Sun Valley Rice Company and general counsel for the National Cotton Council of America. Birdsong holds a bachelor’s from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from UC Law San Francisco.
“There are very few people who can sit across the table from a university chancellor, a state secretary, a congressional staffer, and a Salinas Valley grower in the same week and be credible in every one of those rooms,” said Danny Bernstein, CEO and founder of Reservoir Farms. “Christy has spent her career doing exactly that. Reservoir’s thesis is technology as resilience — and making that real requires someone who understands how policy, research institutions, and agriculture actually work together. She’s lived it.”
Murphy Tractor & Equipment Co. appoints president
One of the largest John Deere construction and forestry equipment dealerships in North America, Murphy Tractor & Equipment named Jeff Oldham its president, effective Sept. 10, succeeding Bill Buckles who served the company for 33 years.
Oldham began his career at Deere & Company, serving the company in various leadership and sales roles over 15 years, and most recently served as the CEO of Groff Tractor & Equipment. Additionally, he held positions at Ag-Power, Arrow Truck Sales/Volvo Group, and GreenMark Equipment.
“Jeff is an experienced and respected leader with a deep understanding of our industry and the importance of building strong relationships. His values align closely with the culture that has guided Murphy Tractor for decades. We are excited to welcome Jeff to the organization and confident he will lead our team successfully into the future,” said David Murfin, chairman of Murfin (Murphy Tractor’s parent company), in a press release.
