ADM CEO Woertz says “the strategy hasn’t changed” as Reuters examines company’s biofuels evolution

Reuters ran a detailed analysis of the changing fortunes at Archer Daniels Midland under CEO Patricia Woertz, who commenced her reign in 2006 and embarked on a strategy to reposition that company in agrienergy as well as its long-standing leadership in  grain processing.

According to Reuters, “ADM had a long history in biofuels, having basically invented the ethanol market during the late-1970s energy crisis…[by]2006, ethanol was generating windfall profits for ADM, which produced about one-third of the nation’s supply.”

Woertz told analysts in 2006 that “Our commitment is to be the global leader in bioenergy.” Reuters reports that the PR department” rewrote the boilerplate at the bottom of all press releases to emphasize biofuels”. All that has changed, and Reuters notes that “Last summer, company flacks changed the press-release boilerplate back to something more generic, burying energy near the bottom of the list.” Woertz indicated in an interview that “the strategy hasn’t changed. We’ve evolved our message, not our strategy.”

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