Dehai News

(World Fertilizer) Danakali appoints CEO

Posted by: Semere Asmelash

Date: Monday, 25 March 2019


World Fertilizer



Danakali appoints CEO

Published by Nicholas WoodroofDigital Assistant Editor 

World Fertilizer, Monday, 25 March 2019 08:54

Danakali Ltd has appointed Niels Wage has been appointed as CEO of the company. The appointment is effective immediately.

The company undertook a thorough global search for potential CEO candidates. Wage won the role due to his extensive and relevant industry experience, clear leadership capabilities, and passion for the Colluli Potash Project and Eritrea.

Wage has significant potash, trading and logistics experience. Prior to joining Danakali he held a number of senior management roles at BHP, including Vice President Potash, Vice President Freight and Vice President Diamonds. At BHP he was also responsible for marketing, sales and supply chain for the Jansen Potash Project. Before BHP Wage worked in trading and logistics for Cargill and Vopak. He has also held a series of directorships including joint ventures between Japanese firms K-line, Daiichi and JFE Steel and BHP, the International Plant Nutrition Institute and RightShip. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Economics from the University of Amsterdam and has completed the International Directors Programme at global business school INSEAD.

Wage joined Danakali in June 2018 as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). As CCO, Wage assisted the company to build and maintain industry relationships including interacting with the Colluli Mining Share company’s (CMSC) offtake partner, EuroChem Group. He has also been involved in investigating the multi-commodity and logistics optimisation potential of the Project, further developing CMSC’s product sales strategy, advancing Danakali and CMSC’s social and environmental agenda, and supporting funding, project execution and operations readiness processes.

Executive Chairman, Seamus Cornelius, said:

“The Danakali Board is very pleased to confirm Niels as the company’s new CEO. The confirmation follows an extensive global search for the right leader for the company’s current stage, upcoming milestones and longer term strategy, and we are very confident we have found that with Niels. In his time at the company he has already added significant value, utilising his wealth of experience and skills in leadership, mining, fertilizer, sales, marketing and supply-chain management. Niels starts as CEO at a very exciting and critical time for Danakali with project funding well progressed and project execution set to commence. I wish him the best of luck and know he will be supported ably by the rest of the company’s employees and the Danakali Board.”

 

Wage said:

“I am honoured to be asked by the Danakali Board to serve as CEO at this particularly exciting stage, as the company advances towards construction and production at Colluli. The recent achievements of the Company including the industry-first binding take or pay offtake agreement with EuroChem, a US$200 million mandate and term sheet executed with leading African Development Finance Institutions AFC and Afreximbank and admittance to trading on the London Stock Exchange Main Market provide an excellent platform for the company’s further funding and project execution success. I look forward to building value for shareholders by working closely with the Danakali team, joint venture partners ENAMCO and other stakeholders to move rapidly towards production from Colluli. I am privileged to be able to contribute to a unique project that has the potential to positively change the lives of people in Eritrea and across the region while helping to deliver the substantial and environmentally sound increases in global food supply required in the coming decades.”

Danakali appoints CEO

World Fertilizer





Dr. Fikrejesus Amahazion at the XXIX International Rosa Luxemburg Conference in Berlin on January

Dehai Events