Page Named as CEO of Cargill
Page was named to his current position as Cargill president and chief operating officer in June 2000. He was elected to the Cargill Board of Directors in August 2000.
07/02/07 Cargill has announced that its board of directors has elected Gregory Page, 55, chief executive officer and president, effective June 1, 2007. Page will succeed Warren Staley, Cargill’s chairman and chief executive officer, when he retires as CEO on June 1, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 for Cargill executives. Staley will continue to serve as chairman of the Cargill Board of Directors until its annual meeting on Sept. 11, 2007.
Page was named to his current position as Cargill president and chief operating officer in June 2000. He was elected to the Cargill Board of Directors in August 2000.
“I’ve worked closely with Greg for the past seven years, and I know he has the capacity to lead Cargill to become an even greater company than it is today,” said Staley. “Greg’s extensive global travels and leadership experience in and outside of the United States have given him deep insight into all of our businesses. As a result, he believes strongly in harnessing the knowledge and capabilities of Cargill’s diverse businesses to benefit our customers. We are excited to have Greg lead Cargill forward.”
After joining Cargill in 1974 as a trainee, Page held a number of positions in the company’s U.S. animal nutrition business before transferring to Singapore in 1985 to lead its animal nutrition operations in Asia. In 1989, he moved to Thailand to build Cargill’s poultry processing business in that country. He returned to the United States in 1992, where he assumed leadership of Cargill’s North American and Australian beef and pork operations in 1995. In 1998, Page was named corporate vice president and sector president, with responsibilities for the company’s financial markets and beef and pork groups. He was elected executive vice president of Cargill in 1999. Page holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Dakota.
Staley was elected president of Cargill in February 1998, CEO in June 1999 and chairman of the board in August 2000. He was elected to the Cargill Board of Directors in August 1995. Staley joined Cargill as a trainee in 1969 and held merchandising, management and leadership positions in the United States, Europe and South America.
“Under Warren’s leadership, Cargill’s earnings have tripled. As exceptional as those results are, his contributions are far greater,” said Page. “Warren led the company’s transformation to a customer-based solutions provider; he instituted a new model of shared leadership; he reshaped the organization in ways that generated new growth, and he exemplified what it means to be a corporate citizen.”
Page is a member of the board of directors of Eaton Corporation, the Alumni Association of the University of North Dakota and the University of North Dakota Foundation. He serves on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and was the past chair of its Greater Twin Cities affiliate.
