Ellen Kullman, the chairman and chief executive officer of DuPont Co., announced her intention to retire while the company cut its profit forecast and an activist shareholder who wants to break up the 213-year-old chemical maker increased its stake.
The company appointed Edward Breen, a board member, to fill Kullman's positions on an interim basis, Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont said in a statement on Monday. Kullman, 59, will leave effective Oct. 16.
The company cut its profit forecast for the full year below analysts' estimates.
Kullman took the reins of DuPont as its first woman CEO during the depths of the recession and transformed the company by shedding the auto-paint and chemicals businesses and acquiring food-ingredient maker Danisco.
In May, Kullman defeated a proxy challenge from activist investor Trian Fund Management, which wanted three board seats to execute a plan of steep cost cuts and a breakup of the company.
Trian, DuPont's fifth-biggest shareholder, raised its stake, co-founder Ed Garden said in an interview with CNBC on Monday.
Business on 10/06/2015