Dive Brief:
- Archer Daniels Midland Co. announced that the company's CFO, Ray Young, will continue as CFO but also assume the role of executive vice president and be responsible for the company's business in Asia.
- The changes come amid ADM's invigorated focus on Asian operations, which the company seeks to expand "to take advantage of the region's growing middle-class population," according to Reuters.
- This was just one of several management changes made in ADM's announcement, which were the latest changes since CEO Juan Luciano took his position in January after replacing former-CEO Patricia Woertz.
Dive Insight:
ADM has either attempted or accomplished several initiatives to embolden the company's Asian expansion. Last year, ADM grew its stake in Singapore's Wilmar International, and the completion of a food ingredient plant in China is poised to happen this year, the company's first wholly owned production facility in the country. ADM tried but failed to acquire Australian grain handler Graincorp Ltd in 2013, which would have given ADM better access to Asia that way, though ADM still holds a 20% stake in that company.
On his appointment of Young to the company's Asian business, Luciano said in a statement, “Ray’s exceptional insight into the region will allow him to assist Ismael Roig, the president of ADM Asia-Pacific, and our other regional leaders as they accelerate our Asia strategy.”