ST. LOUIS — Karl Gerrand will join Bunge North America as managing director of Canada, effective March 31. He will succeed Richard “Rick” A. Watson, who has served as country manager since 2008. Mr. Watson will retire on March 31.

Mr. Gerrand most recently was with Viterra, Inc., where he worked for eight years, most recently as chief operating officer of global processing operations.  He was responsible for 34 manufacturing facilities with 1,200 employees around the world that crushed oilseeds and produced feed ingredients, milled wheat, durum and oats, and manufactured malt and pasta.  Prior to joining Viterra, he was co-founder and president of Can-Oat Milling, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.

“We are pleased to have an experienced leader like Karl join the Bunge team,” said Soren Schroder, president and chief executive officer of Bunge North America. “With his track record of delivering strong results, Karl is the right choice to drive Bunge’s growth plans for our Canadian operations.”