Patricia Woertz

Woertz joined ADM as CEO and president in April 2006, and she was named chair of the board in February 2007. She served as CEO until December 2014. During that tenure, Woertz drove efforts to improve shareholder returns while growing the business through acquisitions, capital investments, and partnerships. Under her leadership, ADM strengthened its global network and grew its portfolio of higher-margin products.

Woertz began her career as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Ernst—later Ernst & Young—in Pittsburgh. She joined Gulf Oil Corporation (later Chevron) in 1977, where she held various positions in finance, strategic planning, refining, and marketing. In 2001, she was named executive vice president in charge of Chevron’s global refining, marketing, lubricant, and supply and trading operations.

In 2014, Fortune ranked Woertz No. 8 among the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. In 2009, with a rank of 93, Woertz was the top-ranking woman on Fortune 500's list of top CEOs.

Under her leadership, ADM sees 89.8 billion USD in annual revenue, and remains one of the world's top grain traders and the largest corn processor in the world. During her tenure, she has focused on accelerating the growth of ADM's BioEnergy business while expanding its premier position in the agricultural processing value chain.

Woertz makes an impact in the community and with social change by serving on a number of boards. She serves on the boards of directors of the Procter & Gamble Company, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and UI LABS—a nonprofit public-private collaboration that fosters research and commercialization efforts to solve large-scale industrial challenges. She also chairs the U.S. section of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum and is a vice chair of The Business Council. In 2010, she was appointed to the President’s Export Council by President Obama.

Woertz has also made an impact on education in number of ways. She has served the Penn State and Smeal College of Business community through her service on boards, philanthropic giving, and through her interaction with students on campus through speaking engagements and recruiting.