DowDuPont announced top management for its Corteva Agriscience and DuPont specialty products businesses, tabbing DowDuPont CEO Ed Breen as executive chairman of DuPont. Jim Collins and Marc Doyle will become CEOs of Corteva and DuPont, respectively. Both companies are expected to separate from DowDuPont by 1 June 2019.
DowDuPont’s materials science division, which will retain the Dow Chemical name, is slated to be spin off by 1 April 2019 as previously announced.
The boards of all three future companies are expected to be finalized and announced by the end of October 2018, DowDuPont said today.
Corteva leadership will include CEO-elect Collins, who is currently COO of the agriculture division. Greg Friedman, currently head of finance for the agriculture division and vice president/ DuPont investor relations, will become executive vice president and CFO; Cornel Fuerer, currently head of legal for the agriculture division, will be senior vice president and general counsel.
At DuPont, Doyle, who is currently COO of the specialty products division, will become CEO upon separation of the company. Jeanmarie Desmond, currently head of finance for specialty products and co-controller of DowDuPont, will become executive vice president and CFO; Erik Hoover, currently head of legal for the specialty products division, chief compliance officer for DuPont, and assistant secretary for DowDuPont, will become senior vice president, general counsel.
“Over the past three years I have seen first-hand the ability of each of these leaders to develop and execute on their respective business strategies,” Breen said. “They have successfully delivered growth, driven integration initiatives, and captured synergies, while also taking the steps needed to build world-class organizations that will position the independent companies to win in the marketplace.”
In his full-time role as DuPont executive chairman, Breen will work with DuPont senior leadership on portfolio management, capital allocation, and, in conjunction with Doyle, shareholder engagement. As CEO, Doyle will lead the organization and remain focused on business execution, growth initiatives, and establishing a culture of innovation and operational discipline, DowDuPont says. Doyle will report to Breen.
“Marc and Jim are highly qualified executives who have an unparalleled depth of knowledge and expertise in their respective businesses,” Breen said. “I am confident they are the right leaders to drive each company forward and capitalize on the tremendous value creation opportunity ahead for all our stakeholders.”
DowDuPont previously named material science COO Jim Fitterling as CEO of Dow and DowDuPont CFO Howard Ungerleider as Dow president and CFO. Amy Wilson will become general counsel of Dow.
By Robert Westervelt
Source: Chemical Week
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