Paul Larmer retired as CEO of Semex, the Canadian dairy genetics company in early 2024. He was recently named the International Person of the Year by the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisc.
Larmer sat down with John Greig, Glacier FarmMedia’s John Greig at the World Dairy Expo to talk about what he learned about building a global business and how Canada can create more companies with global reach in agriculture.
Here are some highlights:
- Communication is critical for leaders, including with boards of directors, customers and employees.
- A change in vision and strategic plan are what set Semex onto a path of being one of the global players in dairy genetics in a mature marketplace.
- There is less emphasis at the Canadian government level on trade and creating the conditions for Canadian companies to thrive internationally.
- There are more political barriers in the world today to global trade, not just bureaucratic barriers.
Here’s a longer interview with Larmer at the point of his retirement.
