ADM, the world’s largest producer of ethanol, has picked a Big Oil exec to run Big Ethanol. According to a company release, Archer Daniels Midland Company announced that Patricia A. Woertz has been selected as President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, succeeding G. Allen Andreas, who remains as Chairman of the Board. Woertz, 53, most recently was Executive Vice President of Chevron Corporation, in charge of the oil company’s “downstream” operations, including refining, marketing, lubricant, supply and trading businesses in 180 countries. The press is having a field day with this, since Chevron just posted a nearly 50 percent profit increase, and it signals that ethanol is really hitting the big time. While ethanol currently accounts for only about five percent of ADM’s multi-faceted agricultural business, the company intends to increase production by 50 percent within the next two years.
Nearly 200 articles on the story come up in a Google search. Here’s a good one from the Chicago Tribune.