DuPont shakes up management, Ed Breen back as CEO

Wilmington, Delaware – In a major shakeup, DuPont Co. is changing its top management less than a year after becoming an independent company again.

CEO Marc Doyle is being replaced by chairman Ed Breen, who previously also held the CEO role. 

Chief financial officer Jeanmarie Desmond also is out, replaced by Lori Koch, the firm's VP of investor relations, corporate financial planning and analysis.

Both appointments are effective immediately, officials said in an 18  Feb news release. 

They added that the board of directors at Wilmington-based DuPont "has made these leadership changes to accelerate operational performance improvement and to more directly tap Ed Breen's significant management experience."

Breen joined DuPont in 2015 after a long career in management, including stints at Tyco International and Motorola. 

Since joining DuPont, he "led the company through an extensive transformation to further unlock the potential of its distinctive capabilities, innovative portfolio and deep customer relationships," Alexander Cutler, head independent director, said in a news release.

"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," Cutler said.

Koch has been with DuPont for 17 years, including stints leading finance for several multi-billion-dollar business units including packaging and industrial polymers, performance polymers and performance materials.

Breen will leave his position on the board of directors of DuPont spinoff Corteva in order to focus on DuPont.

DuPont became an independent company again on 1 June 2019 after a two-year merger with Dow Inc. 

That split also created an independent Dow and Corteva, an independent firm focused on agricultural products.

Former DuPont CFO Nick Fanandakis also will return to the firm to serve as senior advisor to the CEO, with a focus on driving the restructuring effort. 

Officials added that DuPont "will continue to advance the initiatives announced on its fourth quarter and year-end 2019 conference call to assure that its organisational and cost structures are right sized to reflect the ongoing portfolio changes."