Syngenta Group Appoints Hengde Qin as Chief Executive Officer

BASEL, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 1, 2026--

Syngenta Group today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously appointed Hengde Qin as Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2026, following a thorough nomination and succession process. Qin, currently Chief Operating Officer and Head of Seeds, succeeds Jeff Rowe, who will remain in the role through August 1 before returning to the United States after nearly 10 years with the company.

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Fanrong Li, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said “The Board of Directors believes Hengde, a highly respected leader who boasts a unique combination of operational, financial and commercial experience is the best candidate for the role. We are confident that Hengde will take Syngenta Group to the next level of its sustainable development and value creation. We want to sincerely thank Jeff for his contribution and service as he led the Company through focused execution during one of the most challenging periods in modern agriculture.”

Qin will be based in company headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, where he has been located since January 2023. He has served on Syngenta Group's executive team since 2020, holding senior roles across the business, finance, human resources, and global operations. During his tenure he has served as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Human Resources Officer for Syngenta Group as well as President of Syngenta Group China — where he led a period of significant growth and profitability expansion that established the China business as one of the company's strongest-performing operations. He is a member of the Syngenta Group Board of Directors.

“Agriculture stands at the center of the world’s most important challenges – from feeding a growing population to improving sustainability and resilience across food systems,” said Qin. “That is why the mission of this company matters so deeply to me — we help farmers produce higher yields with lower impact. That mission has never been more important, and few companies are as well positioned as Syngenta to lead that transformation. Together with Syngenta’s talented employees around the world, we will continue to innovate, create lasting value for our customers, and deliver more breakthroughs for farmers, in every field.”

Qin previously held CEO positions at two publicly listed companies in mainland China and Hong Kong. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and management from the East China Engineering Institute of Technology, a master's degree in industrial engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and an MBA from the China Europe International Business School.

"I have worked closely with Hengde for many years and have seen firsthand his commitment to our business, his understanding of our customers, and his deep appreciation for the people who make this company successful. This is a transition from strength to strength," said Rowe.

Rowe joined Syngenta in September 2016 and was responsible for the successful turnaround of the Seeds business, which saw strong growth and a return to profitability. He then went on to lead the Crop Protection business, the company's largest business unit, before taking over as CEO.

“I am deeply honored by the Board’s confidence in me and grateful for the opportunity to succeed Jeff,” said Qin.

About Syngenta Group

Syngenta Group is one of the world’s largest agricultural technology (AgTech) companies, employing over 50,000 people in more than 90 countries. Syngenta Group is focused on creating Breakthroughs for farmers, in every field™, so they can make the transformation required to feed a growing world population while preserving our planet. Guided by its Sustainability Goal, of higher yields with lower impact, Syngenta Group’s bold scientific discoveries deliver better benefits for farmers and society on a bigger scale than ever before. Syngenta Group is the largest AgTech company by revenue, ranked number one in crop protection, number one in biologicals and number three in seeds.

Syngenta Group, which is registered in Shanghai, China, and has its management headquarters in Switzerland, draws strength from its four business units: Syngenta Crop Protection, headquartered in Switzerland; Syngenta Seeds, headquartered in the United States; ADAMA ®, headquartered in Israel; and Syngenta Group China.

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This document may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as “expect,” “would,” “will,” “potential,” “plans,” “prospects,” “estimated,” “aiming,” “on track” and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. For Syngenta Group, such risks and uncertainties include, amongst others, risks relating to legal proceedings, regulatory approvals, new product development, increasing competition, customer credit risk, general economic and market conditions, refinancing risk, interest rate fluctuations and access to capital markets, compliance and remediation, evolving environmental and sustainability regulations, changes in agricultural policies or subsidy regimes, intellectual property rights, implementation of organizational changes, impairment of intangible assets, consumer perceptions of genetically modified crops and organisms or crop protection chemicals, climatic variations, fluctuations in exchange rates and/or grain prices, supply chain disruptions, (geo)political risks, trade restrictions, sanctions, and export controls, natural disasters, and breaches of data security or other disruptions of information technology. Syngenta Group assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors.

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Jeff Rowe - Syngenta Group Chief Executive Officer, until August 1, 2026

Hengde Qin - Syngenta Group Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2026

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Mourners gathered Wednesday in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore to bury 14 schoolchildren who were killed when the roof of a tutoring center collapsed on Tuesday.

Police are investigating whether negligence during ongoing construction work caused the collapse that left another eight children injured and hospitalized in stable condition.

Residents and preliminary police findings indicate the tutoring center was operating in an aging building. Investigators believe the unfinished roof of the second floor may have collapsed because of poor construction.

At least two people, including the building owner, were arrested as investigators tried to determine who was responsible, senior police official Kamran Faisal said, adding that negligence by the owner and construction workers appear to have caused the collapse.

“We are still investigating to determine exactly whose negligence resulted in this tragic incident,” Faisal said.

Funeral prayers for the children, who were up to 14 years old, began before dawn and continued through Wednesday morning. Most of the victims were buried in a local graveyard, while some families planned to take the bodies to their native towns for burial.

Ambulances transported the victims’ bodies overnight to their homes in Kahna, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Lahore. As the bodies were returned to their families, cries echoed through the neighborhood. Mothers and female relatives sat beside the bodies throughout the night while classmates and friends of the victims stood nearby in tears.

The funeral mourners Wednesday morning included Mohammad Ashfaq, a laborer whose 7-year-old son and nephew were killed in the collapse.

“I cannot express my pain and grief in words,” Ashfaq said through tears as relatives tried to comfort him.

Nearby, Muhammad Farooq mourned the loss of his young daughter.

“Yesterday she went to her tuition class at around 4 p.m.,” Farooq said. “Around 4:45 p.m., my family called me and said the roof of the tuition center had collapsed. They told me many children were trapped under the debris. Fourteen children were killed, and the injured were taken to the hospital.”

Local resident Mohammad Tahir said neighbors were the first to respond after the roof gave way.

“Rescuers arrived quickly, but before they reached us, neighbors rushed in with shovels and even dug through the debris with their bare hands,” Tahir said. “We also pulled children from the rubble, but many could not be saved.”

Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. Structures are frequently built with substandard materials and safety regulations are sometimes ignored to reduce costs.

Grief has turned to anger for some people. Residents blamed the owner of the tutoring center for holding classes in what they described as an old and unsafe building despite ongoing construction and demanded strict punishment for those responsible.

“We don’t know whose funeral to attend first or whose home to visit first to offer condolences,” Tahir said.

Books, shoes and other stuff of victim children are seen at the site of Tuesday's roof collapse at a tutoring center roof, on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

People carry the bodies of children, who were killed in the roof collapse at a tutoring center that was under construction after a funeral prayer, on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Women mourn around the bodies of their children, who were killed in the roof collapse at a tutoring center that was under construction on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

People carry the bodies of children, who were killed in a roof collapse at a tutoring center on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan after a funeral prayer Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Women mourn around the bodies of their children, who were killed in the roof collapse at a tutoring center that was under construction on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)