Cargill Inc.’s board of directors announced Sept. 11 that it has elected David MacLennan, currently Cargill’s president and chief operating officer, as the corporation’s next CEO, effective Dec. 1, 2013. He succeeds Gregory Page, 62, who will serve as executive chairman. MacLennan, 54, will retain the title of president and continue as a director of the company. The transition is the result of the company’s ongoing succession planning with the board.
MacLennan joined Cargill in 1991 and has held various leadership positions within the financial, risk management, energy, and animal protein businesses in the U.S., London, and Geneva. Prior to joining Cargill, MacLennan was a senior vice president with LIT America in Chicago and served as president of Fixed Income Capital Markets at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Emery Koenig, 57, was elected as a vice chairman of the company. He continues to serve as Cargill’s chief risk officer. Since joining Cargill in 1978, Koenig has worked in a variety of commodity trading and risk management roles in the United States and Switzerland. Koenig currently serves as chairman of Black River Asset Management, an independently managed subsidiary of Cargill. He was elected to the Cargill board in 2010. He also serves on the board of directors of The Mosaic Co. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of North Dakota.
Paul Conway, 56, will continue as a vice chairman of the company.