WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S. — Gregory A. Heckman has been appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Bunge Ltd., effective immediately. Heckman had been serving as interim CEO since late January, when he took over for Soren Schroder, who previously announced his intention to step down.

“After a thorough, global search process, the board clearly recognized that Greg has the unique combination of expertise, vision and leadership to successfully lead Bunge,” said Kathleen Hyle, non-executive board chair. “His effectiveness over the past several months as acting CEO has solidified our view that Greg will drive continued progress for the business.”

Heckman joined the Bunge board in 2018. He has more than 30 years of experience in the agriculture, energy and food processing industries. Heckman is founding partner of Flatwater Partners, a private investment firm. Previously, he was CEO of The Gavilon Group, LLC, prior to the sale of its agriculture business to Marubeni Corp. and its energy business to NGL Energy Partners.

He led the formation of Gavilon, the successor to ConAgra Trade Group, and oversaw the spin-off of ConAgra Trade Group from ConAgra Foods after a 24-year career at ConAgra Foods. Heckman has a bachelor of science degree in agriculture economics and marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“I joined the Bunge board because I recognized the significant opportunity to leverage Bunge’s team and global footprint to drive improved operational performance and create shareholder value,” Heckman said. “The last few months spent visiting company facilities and meeting with employees around the world has reinforced and increased my confidence in Bunge’s ability to deliver for our customers, shareholders and partners. We will continue to streamline and focus the business as we position Bunge for the future.”