Agricultural products provider, Deere & Co. (DE), Thursday said it has elected Samuel Allen as Chairman of the Board, effective at the end of the February 24, 2010 annual stockholders meeting. Allen succeeds Robert Lane, who is currently the Chairman and a member of Deere's board of directors.
The appointment, viewed by Deere as a step in its systematic process of leadership transition, was announced earlier by it's board in June. Allen will also continue in his role as Deere's president and chief executive officer.
At that time, the board said it is electing Allen to become president and chief operating officer, as well as a member of the board effective June 1st, and chief executive officer effective August 1st.
Consistent with Allen's appointment, the board, in June, also voted to reduce the size of the board to 11 members, effective at the same time as Allen becomes Chairman.
Since 2001, Allen has been serving as a senior officer at Deere and was president of the Worldwide Construction & Forestry Division. He also led Deere Power Systems Group, John Deere Credit's global operations and Deere's global human resources and labor relations.
Before that, Allen handled several positions of increasing responsibility in Deer in Consumer Products Division, Worldwide Construction & Forestry Division, and the Worldwide Agricultural Division, including managing operations in Latin America, East Asia, and Australia.
DE is currently trading at $54.33, up $0.33 or 0.61%, on a volume of 3.03 million shares.
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