Genus plc announced the appointment of Dr Celia Baxter to the Board as a Non-Executive Director with effect from 19 November 2025, and the appointment of Dr Robert Reiter as a Non-Executive Director with effect from 1 January 2026. Dr Baxter has had extensive experience inpeople-driven, multisite, manufacturing, services and distribution businesses across business sectors in international FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies as well as Big Four consulting, having worked in increasingly senior Human Resources roles at Ford Motor Company, KPMG, Sherwood Computer Services, Tate & Lyle, Enterprise Oil plc, Hays and Bunzl where she was Group Human Resources Director. Dr Baxter has a PhD in Botany from Reading Universityandis currently a non-executive director and remuneration committee chair of Volution Group plc, senior independent director and remuneration committee chair of discoverIE Group plc, and senior independent director and remuneration committee chair of Dowlais Group plc.
She was previously a non-executive director of Senior plc, RHI Magnesita NV and Bekaert SA. Dr Baxter brings widespread global experience in Human Resources, Strategy, Branding, Mergers and Acquisitions and Change Management. Dr Reiteris a plant geneticist by training and spent his executive career delivering innovative new technologies and products within crop agriculture, having worked in E.I. DuPont de Nemours, followed by twenty years in increasingly senior scientific and supply chain leadership roles at Monsanto.
Bob was the R&D Integration Planning Lead for the Bayer-Monsanto merger, collaborating with Bayer to design a world-class agricultural R&D organisation, overseeing an annual investment portfolio exceeding $2.3 billion. Following the acquisition of Monsanto, Bob became an Executive Vice President leading Research & Development for the combined Bayer Crop Science division, and integrated the two divisions with accountability of over 7,000 employees.
