DD DuPont de Nemours Inc

   (FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 11/10/15) 
   By Jacob Bunge and David Benoit 

DuPont Co. named Edward Breen as its permanent chairman and chief executive, appointing an outsider who investors expect will bring major changes to the agriculture and chemical conglomerate.

The appointment also could signal a truce with activist investor Trian Fund Management LP, whose top executives in a meeting last month with DuPont's board conveyed support for Mr. Breen taking over, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Breen is a DuPont board member and former CEO of Tyco International PLC who took over as DuPont's interim CEO last month after Ellen Kullman's sudden retirement. He is expected to forge ahead with plans to reduce costs as DuPont contends with deep challenges in its main markets -- and potentially to pursue deals that could transform the 213-year-old maker of Pioneer corn seeds and Kevlar fibers.

"Clearly, there's major change on the horizon," said Thomas Weary, chief investment officer at Lau Associates LLC, a suburban Wilmington, Del.-based firm that oversees about $500 million on behalf of investors, including members of the DuPont family.

Mr. Breen became a DuPont director in February as Ms. Kullman defended against Trian's proxy fight to gain seats on DuPont's board. Ms. Kullman during her tenure had started a series of cost cuts and sold or spun off two DuPont divisions to focus on higher-profit operations increasingly centered on food and agriculture. But Trian had pushed the company to go farther, including potentially splitting itself in two.

Last month's meeting was the first Trian has had with DuPont's whole board since Trian started engaging with the company in June 2013, the people familiar with the matter said. At the meeting, Trian Chief Executive Nelson Peltz and Chief Investment Officer Ed Garden pressed Mr. Breen and DuPont's other directors to respond to what Trian considers poor performance by the company, and outlined several strategic options they believe would create more long-term value, the people said.

Dennis Carey, a vice chairman at executive-recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International, said Mr. Breen's appointment is an opportunity for DuPont to reset relations with Trian, if not pursue all of the investment firm's ideas. "He will befriend Nelson [Peltz] in a way that's consistent with good corporate governance," said Mr. Carey, a longtime acquaintance of Mr. Breen.

Mr. Breen, through a DuPont spokesman, declined to comment.

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Joann S. Lublin contributed to this article

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 10, 2015 02:48 ET (07:48 GMT)

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