ADM Chairman Willing to Resign; Other Execs Leave
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. Chairman Dwayne Andreas offered to resign Thursday and his son and another top executive left the company over a price-fixing scandal that damaged ADM’s reputation and cost it a $100-million fine.
“I am the one in charge, and as Harry Truman said, the buck stops with me,” Andreas told more than 700 people gathered at the company’s headquarters in Decatur, Ill., for ADM’s annual meeting, two days after ADM pleaded guilty to federal price-fixing charges.
“You have my apology and my commitment that things have been arranged so this will never happen again.”
Andreas also offered to resign, said Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister who headed a panel of directors that negotiated the guilty pleas. The five-member panel, which like the board of directors is dominated by ADM executives and Andreas’ friends, rejected the resignation offer.
Meanwhile, Michael Andreas, the chairman’s son and a top ADM executive, requested and was granted a temporary leave from his job, the company said in a news release after the meeting. It did not provide further details.
Terrance Wilson, head of ADM’s corn processing division, retired because of heart disease, the company also said. Both men have been told they could be indicted, and were specifically exempted from the company’s plea bargain.
Andreas’ apology came after shareholders defeated several proposals aimed at making the board more independent. Disgruntled shareholders said they appreciated the apology but still plan to press for changes in ADM’s board and management.
“They still aren’t there as far as admitting responsibility and putting the kinds of reforms in place that would truly keep this from happening again,” said Ed Durkin of the International Brotherhood of Carpenters pension fund.
ADM pleaded guilty Tuesday to fixing prices of citric acid, which is used in foods and detergents, and the livestock feed supplement lysine. The giant grain and soybean processor agreed to pay a $100-million fine and cooperate with ongoing Justice Department price-fixing probes.
The company also has agreed to pay more than $90 million to settle several parallel civil lawsuits, and more lawsuits are pending. The fines and settlements nearly wiped out ADM’s earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30.
The shareholder discontent also was apparent in voting for proposals to give ADM a more independent board of directors. All five proposals failed. But the most closely watched proposal--to require a majority of directors without ties to ADM management--got 42% of the vote.
“Forty-two percent of votes is impressive, and if I were a board member, I’d listen to that,” said William Bell, a Florida state pension fund official who pushed the plan along with officials from California Public Employees’ Retirement System pension fund. “It’s 9% from a majority.”
ADM shares lost 25 cents at $20.875 on the New York Stock Exchange.
ADM executives took a softer tone with dissident shareholders compared with last year’s stormy annual meeting, where Dwayne Andreas cut off Durkin with the curt comment, “This meeting, sir, runs according to my rules.” This time, Andreas ordered employees to give a microphone to Durkin, who again fired several aggressive questions at ADM executives.
