Cargill Tropical Palm Announces Appointment of New CEO

20 Jan 2014 --- Cargill announced the appointment of John Hartmann as chief executive officer, Cargill Tropical Palm, effective immediately. John was previously the chief operating officer of the business, which manages both of Cargill’s oil palm plantations in Indonesia.

He succeeds Angeline Ooi, who is now executive vice president, Cargill Agricultural Supply Chain (CASC) platform. Cargill Tropical Palm is a business unit in the CASC platform.

“Since Cargill acquired our first oil palm plantation 17 years ago, we have made significant accomplishments in yield, sustainability and community engagement. John’s excellent domain know-how contributed significantly,” said Ooi. “When his unwavering stance on ethics and respect for people and the environment is added to the mix, we have ourselves the ideal CEO to lead Cargill Tropical Palm on its journey to being an industry leader known for business excellence.”

“In my 26 years with Cargill, I have witnessed how the company has helped customers and communities achieve success”, said Hartmann. “Cargill Tropical Palm thrived with Angie’s leadership, and it is a real honor and privilege for me to now lead this winning team. I look forward to building upon our accomplishments to better serve our stakeholders.”

John joined Cargill in 1987 as a trainee. He spent 11 years in the animal nutrition business in a variety of plant, production and engineering management roles. During that time, he was also involved in project management and operations for the construction of nearly a dozen new Cargill facilities throughout Asia and Europe. In 1998, John moved to South Sumatra to be president director of PT Hindoli, Cargill's palm oil plantation in South Sumatra. When CTP was formed in 2005, John was named chief operating officer.