FMC Corporation has announced the retirement of Dr. Karen Totland, vice president and chief sustainability officer (CSO), following a nearly 30-year career in the specialty chemical industry. Julie DiNatale, director of Truterra Sustainability Partnerships, a division of Land O'Lakes, will succeed Totland as vice president and CSO on July 1, 2023. DiNatale will report to Mark Douglas, president and CEO, and will join the company's Operating Committee.
"For well over a decade, Karen has been the driving force behind FMC's global sustainability strategy and award-winning programs that have positioned our company as a progressive leader in ESG," said Douglas. "During the last two years serving as our first chief sustainability officer, Karen has accelerated FMC's targets to reduce waste and water usage across the enterprise, reset our goals with more ambitious targets and restructured our sustainability narrative to focus on a growing set of global issues, including climate change, biodiversity and food security."
Under Totland's leadership, FMC was one of the first crop protection companies to commit to a net zero goal, and among a select group of companies across all industries to commit to net zero by 2035.
She joined FMC in 2010 as vice president, global procurement and facilities, responsible for the development of a new strategic procurement organization with an annual spend of several billions of dollars. Totland was instrumental in modernizing the function with new processes and policies that maximized savings in all spend categories and launching a system that provided greater visibility of costs and improved efficiencies. She also co-led the company's relocation to a new global headquarters in Philadelphia in 2016. Totland serves on The Heritage Group's Sustainability Advisory Panel and has been a member of the American Red Cross of Eastern Pennsylvania's board of directors since 2014.
"On behalf of all of us at FMC, I thank her for her leadership and many contributions to our company," Douglas added. "We wish her a happy, healthy and well-deserved retirement."
DiNatale joins FMC with more than 25 years of experience in the agricultural and chemical industries, including extensive roles in sustainability leadership. In her most recent position, she oversaw commercial and strategic partnership development for Truterra, where she has led the development and delivery of ESG initiatives through multi-stakeholder collaborations. Earlier in her career, DiNatale held sustainability and related roles of increasing responsibility at large cap, start-up and investor organizations, including Eastman Kodak Company, institutional research firm OTR Global, Farm Journal Media, VC-funded startup Granular and Corteva Agriscience.
"Julie brings extensive global experience across many critical areas of sustainability, including advocacy, climate change initiatives, ESG reporting, regenerative agriculture, food supply chain, carbon reduction technologies and external partnerships," said Douglas. "She is a dynamic leader who will drive our sustainability strategy, continue to build critical engagements with key external stakeholders and ensure FMC is recognized as a company committed to impactful sustainability priorities in all aspects of our business. Our management team looks forward to welcoming Julie to FMC."
DiNatale will join the company on April 1, 2023, and will work closely with Totland during the next three months on a transition of responsibilities. She will become an FMC vice president and CSO on July 1.
