Season 3 - Ep. 1 | Feeding the World and Protecting the Planet with Yara International CEO Svein Tore Holsether

Like many of us, Svein Tore Holsether is a leader under pressure. Svein is CEO of Yara International, the world’s leading crop nutrition company with operations in more than 60 countries. Yara’s mission is to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet at the same time – no simple task given the current food and energy crises impacting Europe and other parts of the world.

In this episode, Svein shares how and why he radically reoriented Yara’s mission to make purpose and sustainability paramount in their ambition to grow a nature-positive food future. He talks about why trust is so critical when it comes to sustainability, climate change, and achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. And he also talks about the revenue opportunities that comes with sustainability and how it can be the driver of a business’s success. It’s a conversation about turning pressure into purpose and influence into action.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:

• Leadership Reimagined: Transformation Tips from Jim Hagemann Snabe

• Daring to Build a More Sustainable World with Kate Brandt and Sophia Mendelsohn

• Trust Your Gut: AXA’s Thomas Buberl Talks Transformation and Reinvention

• Thriving Through Adversity: How WTO’s Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is Solving Global Problems

Svein Tore Holsether
President and Chief Executive Officer of Yara International 

Mr. Holsether is passionate about promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in the global business arena. To contribute to a thriving future and drive inclusive growth, he is member of the Executive Committee, Chair of the Food & Nature program for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), member of the steering committee of IMAGINE Food Collective, a nature champion and member of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF). He was a Commissioner of the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC), and also serves as Chair of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA). In 2021, he was elected President of NHO, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise. Previously, Mr. Holsether has held a range of executive and senior position in large industrial companies.

Mr. Holsether has a BSc degree, specializing in Finance & Management, from the University of Utah, USA.