ADM Puts Another Andreas at Helm

Agribusiness giant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., under fire in recent years for its closed leadership, named Allen Andreas, 53, the nephew of longtime leader Dwayne Andreas to replace him as chief executive. Although Dwayne Andreas, 79, is letting go of the day-to-day operations, he remains chairman of the board, which drew some criticism from institutional shareholders who have tried to lessen the executive’s influence on the board, which had been dominated by friends and relatives of Dwayne Andreas. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which holds about 3.6 million ADM shares, called the executive change “a nice step,” but continued to call for an independent board. Dwayne Andreas’ son, Michael, had previously been considered his heir apparent, but faces indictment on antitrust charges. Michael Andreas has pleaded innocent to those charges.