b'MEET SYNGENTAS NEW HEADOF NORTH AMERICAN SEEDSEric Boeck, with nearly three decades in the seed business under his belt, keeps growers top-of-mind in his new position.Alex Martin2022 BROUGHT CHANGESthroughout different sectors of the business world, as companies reflected on the last two years of the pandemic. Whats on the other side as we get used to a new normal? What adjustments are required for companies to stay competitive? How will businesses evolve their leadership to help get through to the other side?Last summer, Syngenta announced leadership succes-sion plans as some people retired or moved on to new roles in the company. Along with the change in succes-sion came a new regional director for Syngentas North American Seeds business. Eric Boeck might be a familiar name to you, consider-ing he has 28 years under his belt in the seed business. Though 25 of those years were with Pioneernow Corteva Agrisciencethe last four years were spent working as head of marketing for Syngenta Seeds North America. Whats kept him in the industry for almost three decades? On top of his love for the industry and the challenges he helps solve, hes driven to reimagine the seed business. We want to be the No. 1 modernized farmer seed experience in the industry, says Boeck, who officially took over the role on July 1, 2022. That spans prod-ucts to people to digital platformsthe whole support network that a farmer has through our trusted retailers and dealers.Boeck says that for decades, seed has been sold in the same way; but as the industry progresses forward, he believes farmers are looking for something different. The table stakes are high for consistently-yielding and harvestable products, right? Boeck says. But, after that, theyre looking for more of an experiencesomeone who really cares about them and who looks out for their needs proactively.Thats the top thing needed to modernize seed selling today, he says. Not Amazon speed sales, but better and improved customer service to help growers find better ways to do what they do best: feed the globe. Fortunately for Boeck, moving from a marketing role to this new leadership role didnt take much of a change. Modernizing the farmers experience is priority No. 1 for Eric Boeck. His priority is still the same: ensuring customers have the 36GERMINATION.CAJANUARY 2023'