The founder of Genesis Fertilizers has stepped down from his role leading the company that is planning to build a farmer-backed nitrogen fertilizer plant at Belle Plain, Saskatchewan.
Jason Mann remains on the board as a director for Genesis, but has relinquished his titles of CEO, president, and board chair.
In a June 20 notice to investors, Genesis says the leadership transition was "part of a planned evolution in governance" as the project moves into the design and engineering phase.
Garth Whyte, former CEO of Fertilizer Canada and director on the Genesis board since 2022, has been appointed interim chair. The company says the board's finance committee is overseeing day-to-day executive responsibilities.
"Jason’s early leadership helped bring Genesis Fertilizers from vision to reality," says Whyte, in the update to investors. "As we move into the design and development phase, our focus remains on delivering a world-class fertilizer facility that gives Canadian producers more control over their supply chain."
In addition to Whyte and Mann, the company says the other members of the Genesis board are Ian Craven and Kathy Jordison.
The leadership change comes two weeks after Saskatoon-based crop input supplier AgraCity, for which Mann is co-owner and CEO, acknowledged major cash flow challenges. The company formally notified its farmer customers on June 6 that it would be unable to fulfill orders for crop protection and fertilizer products that they've already paid for.
The Genesis project has followed a similar fertilizer plant proposal from Farmers of North America (FNA) known as ProjectN. FNA is owned by Jason Mann's brother James Mann. The brothers co-own AgraCity, but there's a long-running legal dispute between the pair that dates back to at least 2017.
In the meantime, Genesis tells investors its focus remains on "investor confidence, regulatory progress, and strategic execution," and that "the project timeline and objectives remain on track."
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FNA spearheading new fertilizer plant
