DECATUR, Ill. -- Archer Daniels Midland Co. said that Patricia A. Woertz has been named president, CEO and member of the board, succeeding G. Allen Andreas, who remains as chairman. Woertz, 53, most recently was executive vice president of Chevron Corp., San Ramon, Calif., in charge of the oil company's downstream operations, including refining, marketing, lubricant, supply and trading businesses in 180 countries, with more than $100 billion in annual revenues and a global workforce of 30,000.
At Chevron, she was one of the highest-ranking executives [image-nocss] in the energy industry. Fortune magazine has named Woertz one of the top-10 most powerful women in business every year since 2000. Woertz becomes only the 8th CEO in the 104-year history of ADM.
ADM is one of the leading agricultural companies in the world, with a long tradition of applying innovation and resourcefulness to feed and fuel the world. While most of my executive experience has been in the field of energy, there are considerable similarities in commodity-based businesses as we build competitive advantages across the value chain, Woertz said.
Prior to becoming executive vice president at Chevron in 2001, Woertz was president of Chevron Products Co. since November 1998. In January 1996, she was named president of Chevron International Oil Co. and a vice president of logistics and trading for Chevron Products Co. In October 1993, she was named president of Chevron Canada Ltd., a refining and marketing company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron Corp.
Woertz started her career as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Young. In 1977, she joined Gulf Oil Corp. in Pittsburgh and held positions in refining and marketing, strategic planning and finance. From 1985 to 1987, during the merger of Gulf and Chevron, she worked on asset divestitures as part of the debt-reduction process. In 1989, she became finance manager with Chevron Information Technology Co. and, in 1991, was named head of strategic planning at Chevron.
She was also formerly a director of the American Petroleum Institute (API).Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.