(Bloomberg) -- DuPont Inc. re-appointed Executive Chairman Ed Breen as chief executive officer, replacing Marc Doyle and its finance chief as the chemical company aims to accelerate an efficiency drive.
Doyle and Chief Financial Officer Jeanmarie Desmond will leave the company, the Wilmington, Delaware-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Lori Koch, vice president of investor relations and financial planning, will take over as finance chief.
With the switch, Breen further cements his role as DuPont’s principal architect, having overseen its merger with Dow Chemicals two years ago and its subsequent split into three companies. He’s taking full control at a pivotal time, as DuPont looks to counter slowing markets, while fielding interest in divisions including electronics and transportation-related materials.
“After careful consideration, the board concluded now is the right time to make these leadership changes, including restoring Ed to the chief executive role to draw more directly on his substantial operating experience,” Alexander Cutler, DuPont’s lead independent director, said in the statement.
Doyle lasted less than a year as CEO, after progress reshaping the company had failed to meet targets. He had been overhauling operations to improve efficiency and lower costs amid a global economic slowdown. While reducing costs, DuPont has drawn up a blueprint to consolidate plants.
What Bloomberg Intelligence Says
Ed Breen’s return as CEO should renew DuPont’s focus on cost cuts and long overdue integration after a flurry of acquisitions, as we see it, with guidance of $215 million of 2020 savings countering flat profit views and tepid industrial activity. Portfolio changes should continue but at a slower pace as Breen focuses on operations.
-- Christopher Perrella, chemicals analyst
-- Richard Bourke, credit analyst
Read the report
Sales and earnings decreased last year, weighed down by weaker nylon prices and a slump in the automotive industry that hurt demand for resins. The company indicated last month that 2020 would be largely the same, with profit forecast to rise or fall 3% on a per-share basis.
“With Breen’s return, we could potentially see more portfolio changes as Breen’s largest role was strategizing on DuPont’s portfolio divestment,” Arun Viswanathan, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note to investors.
DuPont rose less than 1% to $53.42 at 9:58 a.m. in New York. The stock had dropped 31% over the 12 months through Feb. 14, while an S&P 500 materials sector index climbed 11%.
Breen was last CEO of DuPont in June, having overseen the breakup of Tyco International Ltd. earlier in his career. He has now made DuPont the nexus of deal activity in the chemical industry.
In December, he reached a $26.2 billion agreement to combine DuPont’s nutrition and biotechnology unit with International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. DuPont also is exploring a divestiture of its electronics business, estimated to be d at more than $10 billion, people with knowledge of the matter have said.
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