By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Shares of Canadian fertilizer company Nutrien Ltd (NYSE:NTR) fell more than 6% Tuesday when its chief executive officer Mayo Schmidt departed after less than a year in the role.
According to Bloomberg, Nutrien could not comment on details of Schmidt's departure because of legal constraints. However, it comes following a period of strong earnings for the company.
Schmidt was appointed as president and CEO in April 2021. In the past 12 months, the company's shares have rallied over 43% on the back of earnings due to fertilizer demand and rising prices in 2021.
"Nutrien has delivered exceptional results in 2021 and is well positioned to continue this strong momentum into 2022," said Russ Girling, chair of the Nutrien board of directors.
Ken Seitz, executive vice president and CEO of the company's potash business, will take up the role of interim CEO at Nutrien.
Seitz has extensive experience in the agriculture and mining sectors. Nutrien said he is "well-positioned to progress the company's stated strategy and lead the integrated business during the transition."
"I look forward to working with the executive leadership team, our tremendous employees and the Board of Directors to execute on our plan, continue this exciting progression across our business to serve our stakeholders, and deliver on our commitment to advance sustainable solutions to feed a growing world," said Nutrien's new interim CEO.