At a Glance

  • Louis Dreyfus Company has appointed Sébastien Landerretche as its next permanent Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective Wednesday (the day after the release date). Landerretche, who has spent 11 years at the agricultural trading giant, has served as Global Head of Freight since 2015. The news comes from a company press release issued on Friday.
  • The appointment comes about three months after former CFO Patrick Treuer unexpectedly passed away at the end of last December. Previously, the company had appointed advisor Nigel Mamalis as interim finance chief.
  • Louis Dreyfus, headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, saw its CEO Michael Gelchie highlight Landerretche's company experience when commenting on the new finance chief. "I am confident that Sébastien's extensive experience and deep understanding of our business will ensure strong leadership going forward, driving our financial strategy in alignment with Louis Dreyfus's strategic growth plans," Gelchie said in the press release statement.

Deep Dive

Founded in 1851, Louis Dreyfus is one of the world's four major agricultural trading giants, known as the "D" among the ABCD四大粮商. The other three include Chicago-based Archer-Daniels-Midland, St. Louis, Missouri-based Bunge Global, and Minnetonka, Minnesota-based Cargill. The historically volatile agricultural products industry is currently facing supply chain disruption risks from escalating tensions in Iran, affecting commodities such as corn, soybeans, fertilizers, and sugar, Bloomberg reported on March 2.

In choosing Landerretche, Louis Dreyfus gains a seasoned financial leader with deep expertise in freight operations. He joined the company in 2004, initially responsible for ocean freight research in China, before moving to Singapore, where he held roles such as Regional Head of Oilseeds and Regional Head of Freight for Asia. Earlier in his career, he served as finance director at several companies in China; before joining Louis Dreyfus, he was president of SUISSENÉGOCE, the Swiss association of commodity traders.

Landerretche's predecessor, Treuer, served as CFO for over six years and was also well known in football circles, having been a non-executive director of Sunderland AFC. As previously reported by CFO Dive, a moment of silence was held for Treuer before a Premier League match late last month.

In its first-half 2025 financial highlights, Louis Dreyfus said its diversified business model enabled "solid performance" in a "less disrupted but still complex trading environment" characterized by "ongoing new challenges, including trade policy, and pressure on global demand from economic slowdowns." The report showed Louis Dreyfus's first-half EBITDA was $987 million, compared with $1.057 billion in the same period last year; net sales rose 2.3% year-over-year to $26.2 billion.