July 15, 2020

Louis Dreyfus Company COO Michael Gelchie to become CEO in September

Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) said current CEO Ian Mcintosh will retire in September and chief operating officer (COO) Michael Gelchie will replace him, Reuters reported.

McIntosh has been CEO of LDC since 2018 as part of the company's majority shareholder Margarita Louis-Dreyfus management reshuffling. LDC has been family-owned for 169 years.

In end-2019, Gelchie became COO to spearhead a cost savings programme after LDC reported a drop in profits caused by international trade tensions and China's African swine fever outbreak.

Margarita Louis-Dreyfus said in a statement that COO Gelchie had worked effectively through COVID-19 to continue to deliver safely for customers and consumers around the world, helping the company attain a better performance in the first half of 2020.

Gelchie had previously worked for LDC in trading and investment roles between 1990 and 2010 and returned to the company as head of coffee in 2019.

LDC said he will take on the role of deputy CEO and become CEO from October 1, 2020.

McIntosh has been employed at LDC for 34 years. He became CEO after his predecessor Gonzalo Ramirez Martiarena and then CFO Armand Lumens' sudden departure.

Global agricultural commodity traders are looking to respond to lower trading profits and shipping crops. Margarita Louis-Dreyfus has also been looking at inviting outside investors after making a pricey buyout of family minority shareholders.

-      Reuters