Patricia Woertz - Chairman and CEO, Archer Daniels Midland Company

Patricia A. Woertz is chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of Archer Daniels Midland Company. She joined ADM as CEO and president in April 2006. She was named chairman of the board in February 2007. Since joining ADM, Woertz has led the company to record financial results while growing its sourcing, transportation and processing networks through select acquisitions, strategic capital investments, and a number of global joint ventures and partnerships. She has also worked with ADM's board and senior leadership to strengthen the Company's strategic focus and planning, and to promote safety, continuous learning and sustainability initiatives companywide. Woertz began her career as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Ernst — later Ernst & Young — in Pittsburgh. Attracted to the complexity and opportunity of a global company, she joined Gulf Oil Corporation in 1977, where she held various positions in refining, marketing, strategic planning and finance. Following the merger of Gulf and Chevron in 1987, Woertz led international operations and a global workforce as president of Chevron Canada and, later, Chevron International Oil Company. With the merger of Chevron and Texaco in 2001, she was named executive vice president in charge of the company's global refining, marketing, lubricant, and supply and trading operations. She serves on the board of directors of The Procter & Gamble Company and the U.S.-China Business Council, and she chairs the U.S. section of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum. She is also a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and The Business Council. In 2010, she was appointed to the President's Export Council by President Obama. Woertz holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from The Pennsylvania State University, which awarded her its highest recognition for alumni.