When Bayer announced the departure of the Ireland-born executive to “pursue other career opportunities,” some commentators said they thought he was paying the price of the agriculture business’s weaker financial performance, especially in comparison with the German group’s pharmaceutical arm.

On learning of the departing CropScience chief’s new career challenge, other voices warned that this could be tantamount to “jumping from the frying pan into the fire,” as the company he is joining may be facing, if not entirely similar, as many or more woes as the one he is leaving.

Condon joined Bayer in 2006 with the then-multifaceted chemical group’s acquisition of compatriot Schering, a Berlin-based drugs and agriculture company. First serving as managing director of Bayer Healthcare and later general manager of the pharma business in China, he later headed Bayer Healthcare in Germany before being appointed to the Leverkusen group’s managing board.

Alonside a lackluster overall performance of late, Bayer CropScience has been dogged by lawsuits since the parent company acquired US agribusiness giant Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018. Over the three years, litigation from plaintiffs claiming that Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide caused their non-Hodgkins lymphoma has grown into a mountain. After losing all three cases argued so far, Bayer has made a bid to the US Supreme Court to overturn the only verdict to fall in a federal court. Other losses may be challenged in state appeals courts.

Johnson Matthey with its feet to the fire

In March 2021, Johnson Matthey will lose its current CEO, Robert MacLeod, who after a transition period will retire after nearly eight years at the helm. Condon will step into his shoes with an annual base salary of £950,000 plus benefits of up to £5.1m a year.

While the soon-to-be-former Bayer executive called his 200-year-old future employer “an incredibly innovative company focused on using science to address the challenges of the 21st century,” investors punished the catalyst specialist last week for dropping its strategy of becoming a major player in batteries for electric vehicles. This news, plus a profit warning, led its shares to plummet by 19%.

Following a detailed review and ahead of reaching a number of critical investment milestones, Johnson Matthey’s management said it had concluded that the potential returns from battery materials would not be adequate to justify further investment. Even with demand accelerating, competition from alternative technologies and other manufacturers is also increasing, the company said, and this is rapidly turning into a “high volume, commoditized market.”

Some financial analysts who slammed he move as bad timing are forecasting a substantial write-down on the battery business’s £340 million net asset value even if a buyer, or buyers, can be found. One commented that the technology-steeped catalyst maker, in a depressed state could be snapped up by hungry private equity investors.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist