Bunge announces three Board of Directors appointments
Date:11-02-2018
Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) announced recently that its Board of Directors has appointed the following three new board members: Paul J. Fribourg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Continental Grain Company ("Continental Grain"); Gregory Heckman, founding partner of Flatwater Partners; and Henry W. ("Jay") Winship, President of Pacific Point Capital, LLC.
The appointments are effective today. With the addition of the three new directors, the Board has expanded to 14 directors. Bunge, the D. E. Shaw group ("D. E. Shaw") and Continental Grain reached an agreement to appoint the three directors as well as a fourth, mutually agreeable independent director to be appointed by year end.
"We welcome these new directors to the Bunge Board and will benefit from their valuable expertise and perspective as we continue to transform Bunge, execute on our strategic priorities and seek ways to enhance shareholder value. We are committed to engaging with all shareholders as we continue to pursue value-enhancing opportunities for Bunge," said Soren Schroder, CEO of Bunge.
In addition, Bunge formed a Strategic Review Committee of the Board, which will be chaired by Paul Fribourg and will include new directors Greg Heckman and Jay Winship as well as three current directors, Andrew Ferrier, Kathleen Hyle and Mark Zenuk. The Committee will conduct a comprehensive, strategic review focused on enhancing long-term shareholder value. The Committee will make recommendations to the CEO and the Board. Bunge expects to provide future updates as appropriate.
"We are highly appreciative of the collaborative approach taken by Bunge," said Quentin Koffey, portfolio manager at D. E. Shaw. "Bunge is extremely well-positioned within the broader agribusiness and food sector. We believe that the fresh perspectives and exceptional backgrounds of these new directors - as well as the strategic review to be conducted by the newly formed committee - will help ensure the company can maximize its potential and create significant shareholder value moving forward."
"While the industry has faced some challenges over the last few years, we believe that Bunge, with its unparalleled asset base, has all the elements to further strengthen its position as a world class leader in the global agribusiness industry," said Paul Fribourg, Chairman and CEO of Continental Grain Company. "I look forward to working with Bunge's Board and management team."
Greg Heckman will join the Corporate Governance and Nominations Committee, Paul Fribourg will join the Finance and Risk Policy Committee and Jay Winship will join the Compensation Committee. The Board has determined that Mr. Heckman and Mr. Winship are independent directors for purposes of the NYSE corporate governance listing rules, as well as Bunge's standards of director independence.
In addition to these new appointments, the company added Mark Zenuk and Vinita Bali to the board over the past ten months. Mr. Zenuk has served as Managing Partner of Tillridge Global Agribusiness Partners, an agribusiness private equity firm, since 2016. Ms. Bali brings extensive global food industry experience, having served as Chief Executive Officer of Britannia Industries, a publicly listed food company in India.
About Paul J. Fribourg
Paul Fribourg has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Continental Grain Company since 1997 and is a member of its Management Committee. Paul has over 40 years of experience owning and operating businesses in the food, agribusiness, and commodities industries. Mr. Fribourg received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Amherst College and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
About Gregory Heckman
Greg Heckman is Founding Partner of Flatwater Partners and has over 30 years of experience in the agriculture, energy and food processing industries. Most recently, Greg was CEO of The Gavilon Group. During his time at Gavilon, Greg led the company through a period of considerable growth in both the agriculture and energy industries prior to the eventual sale of the agriculture business to Marubeni Corporation and the energy business to NGL Energy Partners. Prior to Gavilon, Greg was Chief Operating Officer of ConAgra Foods Commercial Products and President and COO of ConAgra Trade Group. Greg holds a Bachelor of Science in agriculture economics and marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
About Jay Winship
Jay Winship is currently President of Pacific Point Capital. Prior to Pacific Point Capital, Jay was a Principal, Senior Managing Director, and Member of the Investment Committee at Relational Investors. He has over 20 years of experience as an institutional investor helping to unlock substantial value at a wide range of public companies. Jay is a Magna Cum Laude graduate from the University of Arizona and holds a Master in Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. Jay is a Certified Public Accountant and holds the professional designation of Chartered Financial Analyst.