ADM names Juan Luciano as new CEO

Archer-Daniels-Midland, with corn processing operations in Cedar Rapids, has appointed Juan Luciano as chief executive officer

Luciano is replacing Patricia Woertz, who will remain chairman of the world's largest corn processor.

Luciano, president and chief operating officer of the Chicago-based company, will assume his new role on Jan. 1, according to a statement. Woertz is expected to retire in May 2016.

Luciano, who joined ADM in 2011, took over as president from Woertz in February and oversees commercial and production activities of ADM's corn, oilseeds and agricultural-services businesses, as well as research, project management and risk management.

Over the past three years, Luciano has been part of an effort to expand the company's geographic reach beyond the U.S. and diversify its products while increasing profits. This year, ADM bought Switzerland's Wild Flavors for $3 billion, announced a deal to buy Fargo, N.D.-based Specialty Commodities for $170 million and sold its chocolate business to Cargill for $440 million. The company also has plants under construction from Brazil to China.

'Juan and the management team at ADM have actively worked to change the company's product portfolio and organizational structure to position the company for more consistent earnings growth and higher returns,” Farha Aslam, a New York-based analyst for Stephens Inc., said in an email Thursday. 'This positions ADM to be a significant force in global agriculture.”

Luciano will take the helm of ADM at a time when farmers around the world are working to produce more food to meet rising demand from the growing middle class in China, India and other emerging markets.