MOLINE, Ill., Oct. 2, 2018 /CNW/ -- Deere & Company
(NYSE: DE) today announced changes to its leadership team in
response to the planned retirement of a member of senior management
later this year.
"We are taking this opportunity to realign the senior management
team to improve efficiency, further develop leadership talent, and
more effectively align the organization in support of the company's
business strategy," said Samuel R.
Allen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
The following changes are effective November 15:
- Max A. Guinn, 60, will retire as
President, Worldwide Construction & Forestry Division.
- James M. Field, 55, is appointed
President, Worldwide Construction & Forestry Division.
- John C. May, 49, is appointed
President, Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division - Global
Harvesting and Turf Platforms, Ag Solutions, Americas and
Australia.
- Mark von Pentz, 55, is appointed
President, Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division, Global
Tractor and Hay & Forage Platforms, Europe, CIS, Asia, Africa.
- Raj Kalathur, 50, is appointed Senior Vice President, Chief
Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer.
Guinn is retiring after 38 years of distinguished service at
Deere. After joining Deere as an engineer in 1980, his career
included a variety of management and leadership assignments.
"As a business leader, Max is known for his approachable style
and outstanding communication skills," Allen said. "Throughout his
career, he has shown a rare talent for tackling difficult issues
with sensitivity and tact. During his tenure as president of
Worldwide Construction & Forestry, the division expanded its
product line, updated its manufacturing capabilities, and broadened
its global market presence."
After successful assignments in engineering, quality, supply
management and factory management, Guinn became vice president of
manufacturing in the Construction & Forestry Division in 2000,
moved to the Agriculture & Turf Division in 2005 as senior vice
president of manufacturing and engineering for harvesting
equipment, and later served as senior vice president for the global
harvesting platform.
Guinn joined the company's senior management team in 2012 as
Senior Vice President for human resources, communications, public
affairs, and labor relations. He has been president of Worldwide
Construction & Forestry since October
2014 and directed the 2017 acquisition of the Wirtgen Group,
the world leader in road building equipment. It was the company's
largest-ever acquisition and a move that added global scale to its
construction equipment business.
Guinn holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from
the University of Missouri at Rolla
(now Missouri University of Science
& Technology) and an MBA from the University of Dubuque.
Field, who had been a president in Deere's Agriculture &
Turf Division, will succeed Guinn as president of Worldwide
Construction & Forestry. He has an extensive background in
finance and operations and in his new role will focus on
sustainable, profitable growth around the globe as well as the
continued integration of the Wirtgen Group.
May will assume leadership responsibilities for the Agriculture
& Turf Division in the Americas and the crop harvesting and
turf platforms while continuing to lead the crop care platform and
Intelligent Solutions Group. He has had primary responsibility for
the company's precision-agriculture strategy since 2012.
Von Pentz will add Deere's hay
and forage product platform to his existing duties of leading the
company's tractor platform and for Europe, the CIS, Asia and Africa. Combining the hay and forage and
tractor platforms reinforces Deere's commitment to ongoing
worldwide growth.
Kalathur will continue in his role as chief financial officer
and assume responsibility for the company's information and
technology function – a move to help position information
technology as a strategic competitive advantage for Deere.
Deere & Company (www.JohnDeere.com) is a world
leader in providing advanced products and services for customers
whose work is linked to the land - those who cultivate, harvest,
transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world's
dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and
infrastructure.
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SOURCE Deere & Company