Archer Daniels Midland Co., Chicago, has named Juan R. Luciano its next president and CEO, effective Jan. 1. He was also elected to the company’s board of directors, effective immediately, and currently serves as president and chief operating officer.

In his current position, Luciano oversees the commercial and production activities of ADM’s Corn, Oilseeds and Agricultural Services businesses, as well as its research, project management, procurement and risk management functions. He also oversees the company’s operational excellence initiatives, which seek to improve productivity and efficiency companywide. He has led the company’s efforts to improve its capital, cost and cash positions.

Luciano will succeed Patricia Woertz, who will continue as ADM’s chairman of the board and is expected to retire in May 2016. “When I joined ADM in 2006, one of the areas the board asked me to focus on was leadership development and succession planning, with the goal of ensuring an eventual seamless and successful transition to the next CEO,” says Woertz. “As I look ahead to fulfilling a decade of service to the company, the time feels right to begin that succession. ADM’s future is so bright. We have improved the company’s returns and crafted a strategic plan to achieve further improvements. We have worked hard to build the company’s earnings power and now—with good global demand, large global harvests and the expansion of our higher-margin business with the acquisition of WILD Flavors—we are well positioned for greater success.

“The board and I are confident that Juan—supported by ADM’s experienced and dedicated team—is absolutely the right leader to continue ADM’s success. He is exceptionally smart and capable, with global perspective and a proven track record of delivering results. I look forward to supporting him in his new role and working to ensure a smooth and seamless transition.”

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead our great company and team into the future,” says Luciano. “Under Pat’s leadership, we have made exceptional progress creating a high-performance, results-focused company. My commitment is to build on that success by accelerating our pace of progress. This is an exciting time, with tremendous opportunities, and all of us at ADM are committed to leveraging our core model to achieve new levels of value-creation. I look forward to working with my colleagues to extend our more than 100-year record of success.”