William W. Veazey was named senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Cargill Inc., succeeding Robert L. Lumpkins, who served as CFO since 1989. Lumpkins continues as Cargill vice chairman and a member of the company’s board of directors.
Veazey most recently served as corporate vice president of finance, in which he led Cargill’s controller, treasury, pension trust, insurance and various risk management activities.
Last year, Forbes magazine ranked the provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services the largest privately-held company in the US. In August, Cargill reported a 13 percent increase in revenues, to $71.1 billion on a 15 percent increase in net income, to $1.53 billion.
Cargill, which has four export terminals in the New Orleans area, recently reported that all 657 employees in Louisiana had been accounted for. Officials also noted that the company “suffered very limited damage” to its export terminals and the barge fleet. So far, the company and its employees have contributed $1.7 million to the Katrina relief and rebuilding effort.
The company also recently announced an agreement to settle Clean Air Act claims brought by the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concerning emissions at its U.S. corn and soybean processing facilities. The agreement, spelled out in a consent decree filed today in U.S. District Court, implements substantial voluntary emission reductions at 24 Cargill facilities in 13 states. It also resolves concerns over emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that were discovered and disclosed to environmental regulatory agencies by Cargill and others in the corn milling industry.
The settlement includes a $1.6 million cash penalty as well as $3.5 million to fund community-based environmental projects and environmental improvements at Cargill plants, according to the company. Twelve states and four counties are also participating in the agreement.