The CEO of ADM on Expanding Its Focus from Commodities to Consumers

When I stepped into the CEO role at Archer Daniels Midland, in 2014, I had a clear vision for the future of our century-old agricultural products and services company. I’d spent the previous three years as ADM’s COO, working with the rest of the leadership team to streamline and reorganize our divisions and reorient everyone in them toward smart investments and innovation. We had become much more strategic and disciplined about capital, costs, and cash, and had greatly improved our financial position. Now it was time to turn our full attention to another C: consumers.