BASF's Agro Business in Latin America will have new vice president

As of January 2020, Sergi Vizoso is the new Senior Vice President, responsible for BASF's Agricultural Solutions Division in Latin America. The executive was born in Barcelona (Spain) and has worked for the company for over 20 years. Vizoso takes over the position held for the last ten years by Eduardo Leduc, who retires after 35 years at BASF.

With a background in Chemistry and Business Administration, Vizoso has worked since 2016 as vice-president of BASF in Central Europe, based in the Czech Republic. His career at the multinational began in 1997, in Spain. The executive had already worked for the company in Brazil between 2003 and 2008, leaving the country as regional director of Strategic Marketing for Latin America. Vizoso also held roles at BASF in Germany, the United States, Italy and Russia.

The new vice-president's priority is to continue the growth of the Agricultural Solutions Division in Latin America. To this end, he intends to further integrate the company's seed, crop protection and digital agriculture businesses and implement BASF's new strategy, announced this year.

“BASF defined its strategy with a focus on our customers’ production systems. With the expansion of our portfolio of solutions and services that occurred in 2018, we began to monitor all phases of cultivation. We are prepared to be the best partners for Latin American farmers. Therefore, we are optimistic about the prospect of business growth on the continent”, explains Vizoso.

Legacy in agriculture

Eduardo Leduc began his career in sales in Brazil in 1984. In addition to leadership positions in the country, Leduc served as Global Herbicide Marketing Manager in Germany from 1995 to 1998. He also worked in the United States between 2000 and 2003. Since 2010, Leduc is the Senior Vice President of BASF's Agricultural Solutions Division in Latin America.

Over the last 35 years, the executive has built his legacy within the company and as a representative of the sector. Leduc was president of ANDEF (National Plant Defense Association) and one of the leaders in the creation of CropLife Brasil, an association that brings together and represents important segments of agriculture in the country.  

“I close this cycle with the satisfaction of having participated in a period of great development for BASF's agro business, especially in Latin America, one of the main agricultural regions in the world. Contributing to the process of acquiring assets that expanded the company's portfolio in 2018 was one of the biggest challenges of recent years. I hope that Sergi continues and accelerates BASF's growth in the region, developing the team so that the company is differentiated among our customers, contributing to the success of farmers”, concludes Leduc.

Change in Marketing Brazil

After four years as director of Marketing Brazil, Marcelo Batistela left the position to take up the position in Germany as global vice president of Commercial Excellence for the Agriculture Solutions Division. Batistela has been at BASF for 16 years and has held technical and leadership roles. The new Director of Marketing Brazil is Eduardo Novaes, who was previously the Director of Central Business. Novaes has worked at BASF for almost two years. The executive comes from the pharmaceutical industry and has a degree in Administration, specializing in Leadership, Strategy and Marketing.