Genesis Fertilizers Announces Appointment of New CEO and Director

Jul 18, 2025

Genesis Fertilizers is pleased to announce that Mr. Derek Penner has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Genesis Fertilizers GP Inc., the general partner of Genesis Fertilizers Limited Partnership (Genesis Fertilizers). Derek has also been appointed a director of the company.

The other members of the Board are Ian Craven, Kathy Jordison and Garth Whyte, all of whom are independent directors, and Jason Mann. Mr. Whyte is currently the Interim Chair of the Board.

Derek is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and brings more than 20 years of senior financial, strategic and operational leadership experience in both Canada and international markets. His previous roles include Chief Financial Officer and later President and Chief Executive Officer of Monsanto Canada, as well as Director of Strategy and Licensing for Monsanto's Europe, Middle East and Africa business based in Switzerland. Mr. Penner also served as Chief Executive Officer of one of Canada's largest manufacturers of natural health products and nutritional supplements. Mr. Penner is co-owner and partner at Catchfire, an advisory firm providing transaction advisory and executive management services to businesses, with a focus on mergers & acquisitions across Canada.

"We are thrilled to welcome Derek as a director and as the chief executive of the organization," said Interim Board Chair Garth Whyte. "Derek has been involved with the project for several years as a valued consultant, and he will have oversight of Genesis Fertilizers' fertilizer plant project."

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In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies