World Grain - July 2013 - 10

newsreview

News review

Brought to you by World-Grain.com

Louis Dreyfus Commodities
announces new CEO
ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS — Louis Dreyfus Commodities announced on June 17 that Serge Schoen has decided to resign as chief executive officer (CEO), effective June 30. Ciro
Echesortu, who has been the company’s chief operating officer
(COO) and head trader since 2009, has been appointed as the new
CEO of Louis Dreyfus Commodities.
After eight years of service within Louis Dreyfus Commodities, Schoen will join the parent company, Louis Dreyfus Holding
B.V., in an advisory capacity, and will remain a member of the
Supervisory Board of Louis Dreyfus Commodities Holdings, ensuring a smooth transition for his successor.
“Under Serge’s and Ciro’s leadership, our team has brought
the company to its leading position in agribusiness globally. I
am deeply grateful for Serge’s significant contributions, personal
commitment and exemplary performance,” said Margarita LouisDreyfus, chairperson of the Louis Dreyfus
Group. “Over the last years, the company has
seen exceptional growth and outstanding recurring performance. It has more than tripled
its turnover, multiplied its net results tenfold
and increased its shareholder funds sixfold.
Beyond these impressive figures, and perhaps
more significantly, over the past eight years
we have seen a continued evolution to a diSchoen
versified multinational business with a strong

industrial footprint and presence throughout the value chain. I would like to sincerely
thank Serge for his many years of loyal service and extend my best wishes to him for
the future.”
Mehdi el Glaoui, chairman of Louis Dreyfus Commodities Holdings, said, “Over the
last three years, our company has benefited
from the strength and dedication of Margarita
Echesortu
Louis-Dreyfus, Serge Schoen and Ciro Echesortu, and we have every confidence that the
team of Margarita and Ciro is well positioned to lead the company
into its next stage of growth.”
Echesortu joined the Group in 1985 and served as CEO for
the South Latin American Region before being appointed COO
of Louis Dreyfus Commodities and head of the oilseeds business
from 2007-09. He has also held the positions of chairman of the
Cereals Exporters Chamber, vice-chairman of the Oilseeds Exporters Chamber (CIARA), and president of the Argentine Committee of the United World Colleges.
“I have complete confidence that Ciro is the right person
to be our next leader,” said Margarita Louis-Dreyfus. “His
28 years of service have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable skill at attracting
talented individuals.”

The Andersons, Lansing Trade to buy Canadian company
MAUMEE, OHIO, U.S. — The Andersons, Inc. and Lansing
Trade Group, LLC announced on June 3 that they have entered
into an agreement to acquire Thompsons Limited, a grain and
food-grade bean handler and agronomy input provider, headquartered in Blenheim, Ontario, Canada, and operating through 12 locations across the province and in Minnesota.
The acquisition, which remains subject to certain customary closing conditions, is expected to close at the beginning of the third quarter. The business, which Lansing Trade Group and The Andersons
will equally own, will continue to operate as Thompsons Limited.
Lansing Trade Group’s current trading office located in Chatham,
Ontario, Canada, will be consolidated into Thompsons.
“For The Andersons, this acquisition establishes a foothold in
Ontario with a similarly diversified agricultural company adjacent
to our eastern corn-belt roots. It also enables us to leverage our
strengths with those of our partner, Lansing Trade Group,” said
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mike Anderson. “Thompsons is a
highly respected, integrated grain, food-grade bean and agronomy
business with a similar strategy of cultivating and maintaining
10

strong relationships with growers and end users globally.”
“Thompsons Limited has always been a respected name in the
Ontario agriculture markets,” said Bill Krueger, president and
CEO of Lansing Trade Group. “The opportunity for Lansing to
grow our existing Canadian presence with such a cornerstone
company fits our long-term strategy. Our partnership with The
Andersons will facilitate the entity’s immediate growth in the
crop nutrients sector. Thompsons Limited will benefit from the
combined strength of Lansing and The Andersons in its other
areas of business including grains, food-grade products and
farm services.”
Established in 1924, Thompsons is an integrated supplier of
value-added agricultural products and services to growers in Ontario, Minnesota and North Dakota and to food processing customers worldwide. Thompsons owns and operates 12 elevators,
11 retail farm centers, two seed processing plants, five bean processing plants and a wheat processing plant. Thompsons has a
combined owned and leased grain storage capacity of 20 million
bushels and 30,000 tonnes of nutrient capacity.
July 2013 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
http://www.World-Grain.com http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - July 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - July 2013
