Dive Brief:
- Ciro Echesortu has stepped down as CEO of Louis Dreyfus less than a year after taking the helm at the company, which controls roughly a 10th of the world's agricultural trading.
- The move follows an abysmal year for Louis Dreyfus, which last month announced a 34% decline in annual profit.
- The company said it will look outside for a replacement for Echesortu.
Dive Insight:
Whoever is chosen to replace Echesortu will have his hands full. Even in normal circumstances it's a tough job to run any of the so-called ABCD companies (Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Cargill) that dominate the world's agricultural flow. But nowadays it seems that nothing is normal in agriculture. Droughts, heat waves, and other disruptions are bringing chaos to markets and higher prices to food companies and consumers.
In addition, Louis Dreyfus appears to be planning a global overhaul of its structure as it moves forward with an ambitious plan to double in size. That's going to require capital, which means Louis Dreyfus may also be planning an IPO.