ADM promotes its president to CEO
Archer Daniels Midland Company has appointed Juan R. Luciano the next CEO and also has elected him to the company’s board of directors, effective immediately. Luciano previously served as company’s president and COO responsible for leading and running the company’s global operations.
Luciano succeeds Patricia Woertz, who will continue in the role of ADM’s chairman of the board and is expected to retire in May 2016.
“When I joined ADM in 2006, one of the areas the board asked me to focus on was leadership development and succession planning, with the goal of ensuring an eventual seamless and successful transition to the next CEO,” Woertz said. “As I look ahead to fulfilling a decade of service to the company, the time feels right to begin that succession.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead our great company and team into the future,” Luciano said. “Under Pat’s leadership, we have made exceptional progress creating a high-performance, results-focused company. My commitment is to build on that success by accelerating our pace of progress. This is an exciting time, with tremendous opportunities, and all of us at ADM are committed to leveraging our core model to achieve new levels of value-creation. I look forward to working with my colleagues to extend our more than 100-year record of success.”
Commenting on the board’s appointment of Luciano, Felsinger, ADM’s lead independent director, said: “Since joining ADM in 2011, Juan has made an exceptional contribution to the company’s success. His focus on delivering improvements in cost, cash and capital has resonated with investors, and his drive to ensure ADM reaches new levels of customer relevance and excellence ensures that ADM is positioned well for future success. We are confident he will be an outstanding chief executive.”
Effective Jan. 1, 2015, Juan Luciano will be the ninth CEO in ADM’s 112-year history. He joined ADM in 2011 as executive vp and chief operating officer, and was named president in February 2014.