Who is CF Industries CEO Tony Will? Boss of US firm getting taxpayer funds for CO2 production – iNews

The jet-setting CEO of the American company being given taxpayers money to restart the production of carbon dioxide in the UK made 7 million last year.

Tony Will is boss of US fertiliser giant CF Industries, which has two factories in northern England.

According to the latest CF Industries proxy statement, he made over $9.7million (7.1 million) in total compensation which includes his salary, cash incentives and benefits in 2020.

The company is valued at 7.6 billion and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, according to The Times.

It produces around 60 per cent of the UKs carbon dioxide which is used across food supply chains in Britain, in everything from the slaughter process to the packaging used to keep salads, meat and bread fresh.

The CO2 shortage emerged afterproduction was paused at its plants in Teeside and Cheshire last weekbecause of the rising price of natural gas.

Multi-millionaire Mr Will, 56, flew into the UK from his Illinois headquarters over the weekend to meet Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to discuss the crisis.

They had two meetings before todays reopening deal was struck: the Government is to pay the operating costs of the CF Industries fertiliser plant in Teeside for three weeks. Environment Secretary George Eustice said many millions, possibly the tens of millions will be given to the company to help restart production.

An announcement on the companys website said it was immediately restarting the ammonia plant at its Billingham, UK, complex.

The restart follows an interim agreement reached today to cover the costs to restart the ammonia plant and produce CO2for the UK market.

It said safely restarting the plant would take several days, adding: CO2is a byproduct of the ammonia production process. Safely restarting the ammonia plant at the Billingham Complex is expected to take several days.

CF Industries is one of the largest fertiliser companies in the world, employing more than 600 staff at its factories in Teeside and Cheshire and thousands more in the US and Canada.

It was founded in the US in 1946 as a federation of regional farmers co-operatives called the Central Farmers Fertilizer Company.

It became a publicly traded company in 2005 raising $660 million (483 million) on the New York Stock Exchange.

The same year, it bought a 50 per cent interest in fertiliser firm GrowHow UK, and five years later took full control of the company and its production facilities in Teesside and Cheshire in a 377 million deal.

At the companys Cheshire site a million tonnes of fertiliser are produced each year, which supply the grass and farming sectors.

In Teesside, its supply chain is estimated to be worth 500m a year to the regions economy.

Earlier this year, it was reported the firm was evaluating its options in the North East after being hit with a bill for millions by energy regulator Ofgem.

According to its proxy statements filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Will made more than 7 million in total compensation last year.

The tycoon became chief executive in 2014 after joining the company in 2007 as vice-president of corporate development.

His Instagram includes glamorous photos of his jet-setting lifestyle, including a picture of him lounging by a pool on the 73 million superyacht of Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris.

According to The Times the account was made private yesterday hours before the announcement his company was to receive UK Government funding.

Other pictures showed the tycoon with his arm around US billionaire Warren Buffet after a game of high-stakes poker, and posing with a can of beer aboard a private Dassault Falcon jet.

In a statement on the reopening of the plant, Mr Will said the company was hoping to work with the Government on developing a longer-term solution including alternative suppliers.

He said: We want to thank The Honourable Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and his entire staff for working tirelessly to bring about this agreement enabling restart of the plant and averting a potential CO2supply disruption impacting many industries, including food and beverage availability to UK consumers.

We look forward to working with Secretary Kwarteng and the UK government on developing a longer-term solution, including the development of alternative suppliers of CO2for the UK market.

Prior to joining CF Industries Mr Will was a partner at global management consulting company Accenture Ltd and before that he was vice-president of business development at US department store Sears.

He received an undergraduate degree from Iowa State University and an MBA and a graduate degree from Kellogg School of Management.

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Who is CF Industries CEO Tony Will? Boss of US firm getting taxpayer funds for CO2 production - iNews