Delta and Pine Land Company announced changes in its management team today. The changes are a combination of personnel replacement and a newly created position, according to Steve M. Hawkins, Delta and Pine Land (D&PL) president.

Tom Luehder, president of D&PL International, announced his retirement and the company appointed John Stewart, who has been serving as general manager for Europe and Africa, to fill the position effective September 1, 2000. In a separate move, the company created the position of vice president of business development which will be filled by Rick Greene, currently D&PL’s director of international taxation and finance. Greene will be responsible for identifying, analyzing and implementing new business possibilities.

"John Stewart brings an extensive international business background as well as practical in-the-field experience to D&PL’s leadership team," said Hawkins. "He has served as the company’s general manager for Europe and Africa since 1998 and prior to that was marketing manager with Deltapine Australia for two years. The transition will be eased by Tom’s agreeing to remain with the company for the next several months as a vice president in D&PL International."

Stewart is well versed in the company’s international business having worked on several continents and having played a major role in establishing D&PL International’s production, research, distribution and marketing programs in several key overseas markets. Before joining D&PL in 1996, Stewart established and managed a private consulting business, which served numerous cotton farmer clients in Australia. He has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science from the University of New England in Armidale, Australia.

D&PL International is an operating division of Delta and Pine Land Company. The division has expanded its business significantly in the past few years and is beginning to see returns on those investments as the division begins contributing to the bottom line this year.

"The creation of the position of vice president, business development is increasingly important as we continue to expand our business internationally and technologically," Hawkins says. "Rick Greene has been a key member of the international management team which has negotiated joint venture contracts and licensing agreements leading to lucrative new business opportunities for the company. He’s also helped structure new operations in Brazil, Costa Rica and Greece. His accounting and finance background teamed with his knowledge of our business and industry will enable us to channel development efforts through one person."

Greene joined D&PL in 1997 and has served as the company’s director of international taxation and finance managing and planning D&PL’s worldwide tax requirements and supervising the international accounting and finance functions. He earned his BS in accounting at Christian Brothers University in Memphis. He is a CPA and spent more than six years at Arthur Andersen in Memphis as tax manager before joining D&PL. During his tenure at Arthur Andersen, Rick specialized in tax consulting and primarily worked with Fortune 500 companies.

Delta and Pine Land Company is a commercial breeder, producer and marketer of cotton planting seed, as well as soybean seed in the Cotton Belt. For more than 80 years, the Mississippi-based company has used its extensive plant breeding programs drawing from a diverse germplasm base to develop superior varieties. Delta and Pine Land Company (NYSE: DLP) has offices in eight states and facilities in several foreign countries.