The Omaha-based commodities company Gavilon said Friday that its chief executive, chief operating officer and head of its North American grain division are gone and the new CEO will start working for the company Tuesday, moving soon to Omaha from Portland, Oregon.
Lewis Batchelder will succeed Jim Anderson as CEO. Chris Faust is being promoted to vice president and general manager of the grain division; Greg Konsor previously was head of the grain division. Chief Operating Officer John Neppl won’t be replaced immediately, said Gavilon spokesman Patrick Burke.
Gavilon’s parent company, Marubeni Corp. of Japan, has not hidden its disappointment in Gavilon’s commodity business results.
Marubeni Chief Executive Fumiya Kokubu warned of his disappointment in Gavilon and intent to slice like a knife when speaking with investors this month.
“Gavilon continues to experience difficulty,” Kokubu said, according to a transcript of Marubeni’s third-fiscal quarter conference call available on Bloomberg. “So we will be taking dramatic measures.”
Marubeni bought Gavilon for $2.7 billion in 2013.
