b'surprised and asked what I wanted to do when I finished my studies. I said agronomy. She replied, Really, you have to study for that?After attending university in Ukraine and graduating in 1999, she went to France and was accepted into an agri-cultural engineering school in Paris. She spent two years getting a French degree in life science engineering.That took her to Dow Agrochemical, where she spent two years before a major company restructuring hap-pened. She left Dow in 2002 and went back to university, this time to study business in Nice, France. Following that, France-based Limagrain called and asked if shed like to work in vegetable seed. After fivePiotr Szalacha is lead for SyngentaDave Hansen serves as president years in the vegetable business she moved to the fieldSeedcare in the Europe, Africa &and CEO of Canterra Seeds.Middle East region.crops business within Limagrain Europe. They were look-ing at establishing subsidiaries in Ukraine and Russia, and the company felt she might be the person to help do it.It was a wonderful experience. A bit strange after spending years in France. It was a shift for me from Ukrainian to French life, then going from French back to Ukrainian and also Russian life, she says. Fast-forward to 2015, and the collapse of the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire. She was in charge of two teams that worked side-by-side, Russians and Ukrainians. When the conflict began, they could no longer be in regular contact. Seeing one another in person was out of the question. Direct flights between the two regions were cancelled.It was so hard, but despite everything, we were veryJason Reinheimer is seniorCcile Richard is CEO of Limagrain successful. We managed to supply seed for all our ter- breeder for LCRC. Field Seeds Asia-Pacific operations.ritories, even those affected by the military conflict. Our people delivered the seed even as the conflict was raging. This is the area where crises are quite frequent, so managing that, having the flexibility and agility needed Leadership in Uncertain Times to do that, are strong parts of her, he says. Also, this Henry has emerged as a resilient leader in times that callis a part of the industry where you rarely see a woman for keeping ones eye on the finish line. in a leading position. Its a little bit of a mans world, so Viktor Karbivskiy, CEO of Limagrain Field Seeds basedthats been an additional challenge she has successfully in Ukraine, remembers working with her during theovercome.armed conflict in 2015. Having moved to Limagrain Cereal Seed (LCS) and That was a difficult time for all of us, and the easternLimagrain Cereals Research Canada (LCRC), she is now part of Ukraine still lives with the ramifications of that.putting Limagrains two North American subsidiaries on It was very difficult to know how far it would go andthe map.what would happen next. For Tatiana it was even moreWe have important business activity here in the U.S. difficult, as she was responsible for the seed business inOur Canadian operations are more recent, but a really Ukraine, Russia and Belarus at the time, he recalls. important piece of the overall picture for Limagrain in She managed to maintain a respectful attitude towardNorth America, she says. everyone during that crisis, which was a challengeCurrently Limagrain has subsidiaries in 56 countries because emotions ran so incredibly high. Under her lead- with more than 10,000 permanent employees spread out ership we organized many face-to-face meetings with ourall over the world. Limagrain is the worlds top vegetable partners in order to understand how we could help them,seed company, and sixth overall in field seed production. and things worked out very well thanks in no small partWhile its operations in Europe and Asia are cemented, to her communication skills and sound advice. its North American cereal presence is much younger. Piotr Szalacha, lead for Syngenta Seedcare in theWhile LCS has been operating for eight years with breed-Europe, Africa & Middle East region, met Henry whening stations in Washington State, Kansas and Indiana, she was working to build the Limagrain subsidiaries inLCRC is a much younger entity. It launched its first two Ukraine and Russia. He says he was struck by her abilityvarieties, both wheat, in early 2020. to navigate an often-thorny environment and successfullyBoth varietiesCS Accelerate and CS Daybreakbuild relationships. are being sold by Canterra Seeds and are the first two 22GERMINATION.CAJULY 2020'