Haslestad to be the new Yara CEO

After a successful period as CEO of Yara International, the company has declared that Jørgen Ole Haslestad will become the new CEO of Yara effective as of September 2008, replacing the retiring Thorleif Enger.

Enger will step down at his desired retirement age of 65 years and Jørgen Ole Haslestad comes in to Yara from Siemens, where he was recently named one of a new group of 15 CEO’s to oversee the conglomerate’s operation.

Haslestad is CEO of the Industry Solutions Division with a turnover of approximately $12bn. During his 14 years at Siemens he held several senior executive positions across Asia, Americas and Europe.

Explaining the appointment, Yara Board Chairman Øivind Lund commented, “The search for a new CEO at Yara has been very thorough over the last year. Thorleif Enger has been clear on his intention to step down at age 65, and we have considered several internal and external candidates to replace Mr. Enger. We are extremely pleased with the choice of Jørgen Ole Haslestad.” 

“He has both the international experience, a successful track record running global multi-billion dollar businesses and a strong knowledge of Yara as a long-term board member. He brings both inside knowledge and outside experience when he joins the company on a full-time basis in September.”

Enger, it is believed, will continue in his role as President of the IFA - The International Fertiliser Association.