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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — COFCO International Ltd. (CIL) on March 5 named new global heads for grains and oilseeds as part of a new management shakeup at the Chinese-owned agricultural trading firm.

The Chinese-owned agricultural firm revealed the new structure of its grains and oilseeds business, which now will operate under two separate divisions. Marcelo Martins, previously managing director EMEA, becomes global head of oilseeds, overseeing the global product lines of soybean, meal, vegoil and softseeds. Paul Bateson, who joins from Bunge to take on the role of global head of grains, will manage the global product lines of wheat, barley and corn. Both appointments are effective immediately and will report to Johnny Chi, chief executive officer.

CIL also announced the appointment of Selina Yang, previously global head of grains and oilseeds, as its new chief operating officer, effective immediately. This newly created role will be focused on ensuring seamless coordination between CIL’s global product lines and seven key regions and freight, reporting directly to Chi.

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To strengthen CIL’s asset base, the company also unveiled the creation of a new Global Asset Management organization, which will be based in São Paulo, Brazil. The organization will be led by Valmor Schaffer, who was appointed managing director of Global Asset Management, effective immediately. 

Commenting on the organizational changes, Chi said: “This is an exciting time for CIL. 2017 was a year of integration, in which we worked hard to build a strong foundation for our business. We now begin 2018 with a solid organizational structure that reflects our priorities as a business and brings the right set of skills and experience to lead our development and growth for years to come. I wish the new appointees all the best in their new roles and look forward to working closely with them over the coming months.”

COFCO operates with logistics and processing assets in the key global trade flows, and more than 13,000 employees in 35 countries. In 2016, it delivered more than 100 million tonnes of products globally.