A modern self-propelled sprayer, the kind used to apply crop protection products (ShellieChatt / CC BY-SA 4.0). Archive photo; cropped.
One of the world’s biggest makers of crop protection products gets a new chief executive today. Dr. Zhigang Hao takes over as president and CEO of ADAMA Ltd., the Israel-headquartered company whose weed, insect and disease control products are sprayed on farms across North America and dozens of other countries.
ADAMA announced the appointment in September, with Hao’s start date set for November 1. He succeeds Gaël Hili, who moves up to president of seeds at parent company Syngenta Group while staying close to ADAMA as chairman of its boards.
Hao arrives from Adisseo, a global specialty chemicals and animal nutrition company where he served as CEO, and is relocating from France to Israel for the role. ADAMA also has a new chief financial officer: Sammy Leibowitz, who returned on October 1 after more than 13 earlier years at the company, succeeding Efrat Nagar, who departed after 22 years.
The new team takes over a business holding steady in a tough farm economy. ADAMA’s sales reached $3.0 billion in the first nine months of 2026, down 1% from a year earlier, parent company Syngenta Group reported on October 30. North America was a bright spot, with sales up 5%, while Europe, Africa and the Middle East grew 3%.
“I am excited to join ADAMA and build on the company’s strong foundations and position in global agriculture,” Hao said in the announcement. “Together with the Global ADAMA Leadership Team and our colleagues around the world, I look forward to further strengthening the company’s performance, serving farmers and customers, and realizing the many opportunities ahead.”
For American farmers, the leadership change comes at a company whose herbicides and other crop protection products are used to fight weeds and disease – and whose North American sales are growing even as farm incomes stay under pressure. ADAMA describes itself as a global leader in crop protection, serving customers in dozens of countries with a direct presence in all of the top 20 markets.
JBizNews Desk | Tel Aviv
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