Corteva Inc. has named the executive leadership team that will lead “New Corteva,” the placeholder name for the new crop protection company resulting from the company’s planned separation in the fourth quarter of this year. The announcement comes on the heels of an earlier news release naming Luke Kissam New Corteva’s CEO.
Kissam is the former chairman, president and CEO of Albemarle. He will start with Corteva June 1.
The company also announced the new leadership team for the seed business, now known by the placeholder name SpinCo.
Corteva announced last fall it was splitting its seed and crop protection businesses.
“New Corteva will be innovation-driven in both its product portfolio and its operating model, leveraging its technological leadership to deliver for farmers while also running an asset-light, efficient business,” the company said in a news release. “The company intends to make targeted investments to support growth and leverage its first-mover advantage in nature-inspired technologies to pursue opportunities promising attractive returns in markets that reward differentiation.”
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“The business that will become Corteva after separation, later this year, will lead a critical industry from a position of strength,” said Corteva Chair Greg Page, who will also chair New Corteva after separation. “I look forward to working with each of these leaders to drive the new, focused company to even greater heights.”
“New Corteva’s success will be anchored in innovation and sustainability, coupled with a laser focus on enterprise-wide operational excellence, and this team is the right team to help realize its bright future,” said Corteva CEO Chuck Magro. “It is an exciting time for the company, its leaders and their future teams.”
The New Corteva executive leadership team comprises the following:
- Jeff Rudolph will be the company’s chief financial officer.
- Brook Cunningham will be chief commercial officer.
- Ralph Ford will be chief integrated operations officer.
- Reza Rasoulpour will be chief technology officer.
- Jim Alcombright will be chief digital and information officer.
- The roles of chief legal officer and chief people officer are open, with internal and external searches underway to fill them.
Robert King, now the executive vice president of the Corteva Crop Protection business unit, will become a strategic advisor to the incoming New Corteva CEO effective July 1. King will remain on the current executive leadership team until the end of 2026 and then leave the company “to pursue other leadership opportunities,” according to the company’s news release.
“I want to thank Robert for his invaluable leadership over the past few years, during which time we solidified our global leadership position in Biologicals, launched more than a thousand products to help farmers protect their yields and delivered financial performance that consistently outperformed the industry,” Magro said. “We wish him the very best in his next chapter.”
The SpinCo team is made up of the following:
- David Johnson will be chief financial officer.
- Judd O’Connor will be chief commercial and operations officer.
- Sam Eathington will be chief technology officer.
- Audrey Grimm will be chief people officer.
- Brian Lutz will be chief digital and information officer.
- Jennifer Johnson will be chief legal officer.
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