DuPont Names Breen CEO
10 November 2015 - 9:03AM
Dow Jones News
(FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 11/10/15)
By Jacob Bunge and David Benoit
DuPont Co. named Edward Breen as its permanent chairman and
chief executive, appointing an outsider who investors expect will
bring major changes to the agriculture and chemical
conglomerate.
The appointment also could signal a truce with activist investor
Trian Fund Management LP, whose top executives in a meeting last
month with DuPont's board conveyed support for Mr. Breen taking
over, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Breen is a DuPont board member and former CEO of Tyco
International PLC who took over as DuPont's interim CEO last month
after Ellen Kullman's sudden retirement. He is expected to forge
ahead with plans to reduce costs as DuPont contends with deep
challenges in its main markets -- and potentially to pursue deals
that could transform the 213-year-old maker of Pioneer corn seeds
and Kevlar fibers.
"Clearly, there's major change on the horizon," said Thomas
Weary, chief investment officer at Lau Associates LLC, a suburban
Wilmington, Del.-based firm that oversees about $500 million on
behalf of investors, including members of the DuPont family.
Mr. Breen became a DuPont director in February as Ms. Kullman
defended against Trian's proxy fight to gain seats on DuPont's
board. Ms. Kullman during her tenure had started a series of cost
cuts and sold or spun off two DuPont divisions to focus on
higher-profit operations increasingly centered on food and
agriculture. But Trian had pushed the company to go farther,
including potentially splitting itself in two.
Last month's meeting was the first Trian has had with DuPont's
whole board since Trian started engaging with the company in June
2013, the people familiar with the matter said. At the meeting,
Trian Chief Executive Nelson Peltz and Chief Investment Officer Ed
Garden pressed Mr. Breen and DuPont's other directors to respond to
what Trian considers poor performance by the company, and outlined
several strategic options they believe would create more long-term
value, the people said.
Dennis Carey, a vice chairman at executive-recruiting firm
Korn/Ferry International, said Mr. Breen's appointment is an
opportunity for DuPont to reset relations with Trian, if not pursue
all of the investment firm's ideas. "He will befriend Nelson
[Peltz] in a way that's consistent with good corporate governance,"
said Mr. Carey, a longtime acquaintance of Mr. Breen.
Mr. Breen, through a DuPont spokesman, declined to comment.
---
Joann S. Lublin contributed to this article
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 10, 2015 02:48 ET (07:48 GMT)
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