Corteva Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) announced that its board of directors has named Luther "Luke" Kissam as chief executive officer of "New Corteva," the publicly-traded crop protection company that will result from the current company's planned separation in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Kissam will join Corteva on June 1 as CEO of its crop protection business and will become CEO of the new public company at separation. He previously served as chairman, president and CEO of Albemarle Corporation, a specialty chemicals company, until his retirement in June 2020.

New Corteva will operate as an innovation-driven company leveraging technological leadership in crop protection products. The company plans to make targeted investments to support growth and pursue opportunities in nature-inspired technologies.

Kissam joined Albemarle in 2003 as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. He was promoted to president in 2010 after serving in various senior roles. Before Albemarle, he worked as vice president, general counsel and secretary at Merisant Company and as associate general counsel at Monsanto. His most recent role was senior advisor at Bernhard Capital Partners Management.

"Over the past several months, we have conducted a comprehensive search and assessment of many strong candidates, and we appointed Luke because it is clear that he is the right leader to continue to strengthen New Corteva's position as a global market leader in the dynamic, competitive crop protection industry," said Corteva Chair Greg Page.

New Corteva executive leadership will host an investor day on September 15 at the New York Stock Exchange, according to the company's statement.