Louis Dreyfus Company, one of the world’s biggest traders of coffee, sugar and wheat, has been rocked by the sudden resignation of both its chief executive and chief financial officer.
The company said Gonzalo Ramírez Martiarena, who took the helm three years ago, had left the company to “pursue other opportunities”, while CFO Armand Lumens, who joined in March 2017 from Royal Dutch Shell, had stepped down for “personal reasons”.
LDC named Ian McIntosh, its chief strategy officer, as Mr Ramirez’s replacement and said Federico Cerisoli, deputy chief financial officer, would fill the role vacated by Mr Lumens.
The sudden departures of Mr Ramirez and Mr Lumens are likely to fuel speculation of either a large trading loss or a disagreement over strategy with Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, the widow of Robert Louis-Dreyfus, whose family founded the company in 1851.
Ms Louis-Dreyfus has been quietly increasing her grip on the Geneva-based business since the death of her husband in 2009, raising her stake in the holding company that controls the group from 65 per cent to 80 per cent. That will rise to 96 per cent once the buyout of other family shareholders is completed.
A spokesperson for LDC said the departures were “not related” or connected to the company’s half-year results, which are due to be published in October.
“I take the opportunity to thank Gonzalo for his contribution to the company, in particular as CEO”, said Ms Louis-Dreyfus in a statement. “Over that three-year cycle, he has successfully fulfilled his mandate of putting the Group in its current solid financial position and creating the conditions for the company’s next phase of growth. After this phase of consolidation, the new team is well positioned to drive future expansion.”
“I would also like to welcome Ian to his new position”, she added. “Ian has worked within the Louis Dreyfus Group since 1986 and brings the experience, expertise and knowledge that ideally position him to take the company to the next level and to continue to reinforce the culture and values of the group.”
Under Mr Ramirez, LDC moved to focus on its core operations trading grains and oilseeds. He sold the company’s metals business and was seeking partners to invest in its metals, dairy, fertiliser and orange juice units, which were deemed non-core. He also oversaw a financial bailout of its troubled sugar subsidiary Biosev.
Like its peers, LDC has struggled with tough market conditions and slow farmer selling. It reported a 16 per cent drop in core agricultural earnings from continuing operations last year.
Apart from a 14-year stint at Nidera, the Dutch grains trader, Mr Ramírez spent his career at Dreyfus. Before being appointed CEO, the Argentine headed LDC’s Asian business.
