Dizengoff Nigeria has announced the appointment of Mr. Graham John Leslie as its new Country Manager. Graham takes over from Mr. Antti Ritvonen, who has been the Country Manager since 2015. Prior to his appointment, Leslie was the Sales and Commercial Director of Synergy, covering Europe and the United Kingdom.
He brings to bear his 30 years’ experience, having spent most of his career in agricultural business where he has worked in various segments including fertilisers, crop protection chemicals, seeds, biotechnology and most recently, biological crop protection products.
Leslie worked for Monsanto for 11 years where he was involved in the post-patent sales strategy for Roundup, Monsanto’s world leading herbicide, working in South Africa, Holland and Southern Africa, after which he went to head the Sub-Saharan Region as the Area Director. While at Monsanto, Leslie was instrumental in launching Roundup Ready and BT crops in South Africa. His strength lies in the field of agricultural sales, essentially B2B sales. He has a wealth of experience in general management having held MD roles at Monsanto, Greeff-Christies, PGP and GM at Farmsecure Agriscience.
He also had an entrepreneurial interlude in the property sector, where as a partner in the business, he was involved in a growth strategy for a niche market, Real Estate Company in Cape Town, South Africa, before returning to where his passion lay – agriculture.
With this appointment, Leslie will continue to provide strategic leadership and direction for the Nigeria business. He holds a BSc in Agric Production and an MBA in Economics and Marketing from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Dizengoff Nigeria is a member of the UK-owned Balton CP Group, a British multinational with eight subsidiaries across Sub-Saharan Africa and with over 1000 employers.