A source close to DuPont told Reuters that Breen has said that DuPont’s four main divisions have synergies and that he did not want the CEO job permanently.
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DuPont (DD.N) Chief Executive Officer Ellen Kullman is stepping down this month and might be changed briefly by board member and veteran USA executive Edward Breen, who oversaw the break-up of conglomerate Tyco worldwide Plc (TYC.N).
“Over the past seven years, with the dedication of our entire team, we have transformed this great company by focusing our portfolio, streamlining the organization, and driving innovation that leverages our unique science and engineering capabilities”.
Over the past few days, Ms. Kullman talked to lead director Alexander Cutler and agreed to step down, saying that the company was about to report poor results and she felt she had become a liability, Mr. Sonnenfeld said. In return, DuPont has been experiencing a reduced demand for crop protection products.
“As the CEO of DuPont, Ellen Kullman ranked as No. 26 on the Forbes list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women”.
Shares of DuPont, officially known as E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co, rose 5.6 percent to $54.17 in extended trading.
In the same release, DuPont noted that it expects its earnings per share for the full year to be $2.75, down from prior guidance of $3.10. The company said it will earn around 25% of its expected second-half operating earnings in the third quarter. A central part of Trian’s campaign was that Kullman had in recent years repeatedly lowered or missed earnings forecasts. In her 27 years with the company, Kullman is credited with helping the company through the recession. The revised guidance was mostly due to the impact of a stronger dollar and weakness in Brazilian agriculture markets. Plans related to the additional cost savings are expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter.
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DuPont gave no reason for the suddenness of the departure, which takes effect on October 16. In the spring, the company fought off a proxy fight from billionaire investor Nelson Peltz. The board of directors probably pushed Ms Kullman out because of the failure to meet predicted profit, Jim Sheehan, an Atlanta-based analyst at Suntrust Robinson Humphrey, said in an interview.
