Deere & Co. Chairman Robert A. Hanson...

Deere & Co. Chairman Robert A. Hanson has given up the title as chief executive, which was assumed by Hans W. Becherer, currently president of Moline, Ill.-based Deere, the world leader in tractor and agricultural-implement manufacturing. No firm date has been established for the retirement of Hanson, 64, but company policy mandates that he step down on his 66th birthday in December, 1990.

Hanson, an East Moline native, was the first person not a member of the Deere family by blood or marriage to run the company.