Summit Search Group has been retained by IPCO on the recruitment of their next General Manager.

IPCO is a member-owned agricultural manufacturing cooperative with a 50+ year track record of delivering high-quality crop protection products across Canada and international markets. Owned by four leading Western Canadian agricultural organizations, IPCO serves its members and major toll-manufacturing partners from its Winnipeg facility, generating approximately $150 million in annual sales and producing 35–40 million litres of crop protection products each year. With a workforce of approximately 200 employees and deep roots in the Canadian crop protection supply chain, IPCO is an important and trusted link in Western Canadian agriculture.

Reporting directly to the Board of Directors, the General Manager will hold full accountability for strategy, operations, financial performance, people, and customer relationships — providing the enterprise-wide leadership needed to sustain and grow the cooperative for years to come.

This is a hands-on executive leadership role for a commercially grounded, strategically minded leader who understands the Canadian agriculture sector and knows how to build both people and operations. The successful candidate will have the judgment to balance long-range strategic thinking with disciplined day-to-day execution — and the relationship skills to earn credibility with the Board, IPCO's four member-owner organizations, customers, partners, and employees.

KEY LEADERSHIP PRIORITIES

• Strategic Leadership and Stewardship – Set and execute a clear business strategy that strengthens IPCO's long-term sustainability, competitiveness, and value to its owners and customers. Translate strategic priorities into measurable operational and financial results.
• Board Governance and Accountability – Serve as the Board's primary executive partner, providing transparent, timely, and decision-ready reporting on strategy, financial performance, operational risk, capital investment, and major initiatives.
• Manufacturing and Operational Excellence – Lead the safe, reliable, and efficient manufacture of high-quality crop protection products. Maintain strong performance across safety, quality, regulatory compliance, cost control, asset reliability, and production capacity.
• Owner and Customer Relationships – Build trusted relationships with IPCO's four owner organizations, toll-manufacturing partners, and key customers. Ensure IPCO's capabilities, service levels, and investments remain aligned with evolving market and customer needs.
• Commercial Growth – Identify and evaluate opportunities to strengthen revenue, margins, and capacity utilization. Guide business development and partnership decisions with a balanced approach to ambition, operational discipline, and risk management.
• People and Culture – Lead and develop the senior management team and build a safety-first, accountable, and collaborative culture. Strengthen organizational capability through talent development, succession planning, performance management, and continuous improvement.
• Financial and Capital Discipline – Maintain rigorous oversight of financial performance, budgeting, capital planning, and enterprise risk. Ensure resources are deployed effectively and that major investments support IPCO's strategy and long-term operating requirements.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The successful candidate will be a strategic, commercially astute, and relationship-driven executive who is equally comfortable in the boardroom and close to the operation. They will bring:

• At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience in agricultural manufacturing, agribusiness, or a related industrial environment, including senior-level accountability for enterprise results.
• Demonstrated responsibility for profit and loss, revenue, operating budgets, capital investment, and organizational performance at scale.
• Direct experience reporting to and working effectively with a Board of Directors; experience in a cooperative, multi-owner, or partnership governance environment is a meaningful asset.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, safety, quality, regulatory compliance, supply chain relationships, and continuous improvement.
• A track record of building strong customer and stakeholder relationships and making sound commercial decisions that support sustainable growth.
• A thoughtful, visible leadership style — someone who can set clear expectations, develop leaders, manage change, and build accountability across a complex organization.
• Excellent judgment, communication, and influencing skills, with the ability to navigate differing perspectives and build alignment around shared priorities.

EDUCATION AND ADDITIONAL ASSETS

• A university degree in business, agriculture, engineering, or a related discipline is required; an MBA is strongly preferred.
• A professional designation such as P.Ag. or P.Eng. is an asset.
• Corporate director education or executive-level governance and financial training would be an asset.
• Bilingualism in English and French is an asset.

WHY IPCO

This is not a typical executive role. IPCO is a genuinely unique Canadian enterprise, a member-owned cooperative with a 50+ year track record of delivering trusted crop protection products to the farmers and agri-businesses at the heart of Western Canadian agriculture. With four respected owner organizations behind it and a stable customer base spanning national and international markets, IPCO brings the security of an established, profitable business alongside the genuine opportunity to shape what comes next.

The incoming General Manager will have a real mandate: to lead IPCO's next chapter while building on a solid operational foundation, a skilled and committed workforce, and relationships built over decades with Canada's most respected agricultural cooperatives and organizations. It is a role with meaningful scope and impact, on the cooperative, on the member organizations it serves, and on the crop protection supply chain that Canadian producers depend on.

Winnipeg is an ideal base for this role, a city with deep agricultural roots, a strong manufacturing and industrial community, and excellent connectivity to the Prairie and Western Canadian markets IPCO serves. A competitive executive compensation package, commensurate with the scope and seniority of the position, will be offered to the successful candidate.

TO APPLY

If you are an accomplished executive with a background in agricultural manufacturing or agribusiness, and are ready to take on a high-impact, board-level leadership role, this is an outstanding opportunity to shape a significant Canadian cooperative for its next chapter.

For more information, or to submit your resume, please contact Gail Eckert at Summit Search Group: gail.eckert@summitsearchgroup.com

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