DowDuPont Announces Senior Leaders
Jim Collins and Mark Doyle
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowDowDuPont has announced the senior leaders of the independent companies that will be created following the separation of its Agriculture (Corteva Agriscience) and Specialty Products (DuPont) Divisions, which is expected to occur by June 1, 2019. In addition, the company announced that Ed Breen, chief executive officer of DowDuPont, will become executive chairman of DuPont following the separation.
The senior leaders of Corteva Agriscience include:
• James Collins Jr. (pictured), currently chief operating officer of the Agriculture Division, will be chief executive officer;
• Greg Friedman, currently head of finance for the Agriculture Division and vice president, DuPont Investor Relations, will be executive vice president, chief financial officer; and
• Cornel Fuerer, currently head of legal for the Agriculture Division, will be senior vice president, general counsel.
The senior leaders of DuPont include:
• Marc Doyle (pictured), currently chief operating officer of the Specialty Products Division, will be chief executive officer;
• Jeanmarie Desmond, currently head of finance for the Specialty Products Division and co-controller of DowDuPont, will be executive vice president, chief financial officer; and
• Erik Hoover, currently head of legal for the Specialty Products Division, chief compliance officer for DuPont, and assistant secretary for DowDuPont, will be senior vice president, general counsel.
In his full-time role as executive chairman of DuPont, Mr. Breen will work closely with the senior leadership team and focus on the company’s portfolio management strategy, capital allocation decisions, and, in conjunction with Marc Doyle, shareholder engagement. As CEO, Mr. Doyle will lead the organization and remain focused on business execution, growth initiatives, and further establishing a culture of innovation and operational discipline in order to maximize shareholder value. He will report to Mr. Breen.
As previously announced, Jim Fitterling will become chief executive officer, Howard Ungerleider will become president and chief financial officer, and Amy Wilson will become general counsel of Dow upon completion of the Materials Science Division’s separation from DowDuPont, which is expected to occur by April 1, 2019. The boards of directors of the three future companies are expected to be finalized and announced by the end of October 2018.
Collins is chief operating officer for the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, Corteva. He was previously an executive vice president at DuPont responsible for the company’s Agriculture segment, including DuPont Crop Protection and Pioneer. Over the past year, he has led the integration of Dow AgroSciences into the division, making Corteva the only pure-play agriculture business offering a comprehensive, balanced and diverse seed, crop protection and digital service solutions portfolio with a focus on helping farmers maximize the value of their investment through high-performing genetics and effective science-based solutions.
Since the DowDuPont merger, Collins has worked with the division’s leadership to put in place the foundation that will drive Corteva’s top and bottom line performance into the future, while delivering cost synergies. This includes introducing a variety of new products from its significant innovation pipeline, successfully launching its new multi-brand, multi-channel growth strategy, and establishing a best-in-class cost structure.
He joined DuPont in 1984 and has served in a variety of roles supporting and leading DuPont businesses. His work in the Agriculture segment began 34 years ago with manufacturing, as a sales representative and product manager, and he subsequently served in a variety of roles supporting DuPont’s seed and crop protection businesses around the world. Prior to leading the Agriculture segment, a role he took in 2016, Collins spent the previous three years leading two of DuPont’s other large business segments, Performance Materials and Electronics & Communications. He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Christian Brothers College and an MBA from the University of Delaware.
Doyle has served for the past year as chief operating officer of the Specialty Products Division of DowDuPont. During his tenure, he has delivered progress on all key financial metrics while also leading the integration of DuPont and Dow businesses to establish a strong, independent global company upon separation, which is expected to occur by June 1, 2019. Doyle has played a pivotal role in improving the speed and effectiveness of the company’s new product development, operating efficiency, and cost discipline with a rigorous focus on shareholder returns. Prior to leading the Specialty Products Division of DowDuPont, he served as executive vice president of DuPont with responsibility for the company’s diverse industrial businesses, and led the pre-merger planning for a best-in-class cost structure, lean operating model, and synergy targets for the division. Doyle joined DuPont as a research engineer in 1995 and subsequently held positions spanning new business development, marketing, strategic planning, and business management. In these roles, his focus has been on building and leading customer-centric teams—driving growth and value. He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.
Breen is chief executive officer of DowDuPont and will become the executive chairman of the new DuPont upon separation, which is expected to occur by June 1, 2019. He previously served as chair of the board and CEO of DuPont, a role he assumed on November 9, 2015. Breen joined the DuPont board of directors in February 2015, was named interim chair of the board and CEO on October 16, 2015, and assumed those roles permanently on November 9, 2015. He served as chairman and CEO of Tyco International plc ("Tyco") from July 2002 until September 2012. Over the course of his tenure, he transformed Tyco into a strong market leader, reviving the company from near bankruptcy and rebuilding the company’s brand and credibility. Breen oversaw a successful restructuring, including divesting non-core operations resulting in the spin-offs of Covidien, TE Connectivity, ADT Corp. and the merger of Tyco Flow Control with Pentair. He also established and met goals within areas of operational excellence and corporate governance.
Prior to joining Tyco, Breen held several senior management positions at Motorola from 2000 to 2002, including as president and chief operating officer. He is credited with instituting cost management programs that made Motorola a more efficient and effective organization and led the company back to profitability. From December 1997 to January 2000, Breen served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of General Instrument Corp. where he created significant long-term shareholder value by driving a revenue growth strategy. Between 1994 and 1997, Breen was president of the Broadband Networks Group for General Instrument, president of Eastern Operations for the Communications Division, and served as executive vice president of Terrestrial Systems.He currently serves as a director of Comcast Corp. Breen also serves as a member of the advisory board of New Mountain Capital LLC. He has been awarded numerous governance awards including being named one of the "100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics" by Ethisphere.