Corteva completes seed spinoff, names Kissam to lead Vylor
Charles Magro steps down from Corteva as the new seed company names its executive team
Published
Chart: CTVA, one-minute prices, three sessions
Corteva has completed the separation of its seed business into an independent public company, Vylor Inc., effective October 1, 2026.
Charles V. Magro has resigned as a director and officer of Corteva in connection with the split. Luther "Luke" Kissam has been appointed chief executive. Jeff Rudolph becomes chief financial officer, Brook Cunningham chief commercial officer, and Ralph Ford chief integrated operations officer. All four appointments take effect as of the separation.
The management changes close out a separation process that had already been finalized days earlier and do not alter the deal's economics or timeline. They also do nothing to resolve the more consequential open question hanging over the split: a fraud suit filed by fifteen states alleging the separation was structured to strand PFAS liabilities with Vylor. Naming Kissam, Rudolph, Cunningham and Ford to run the new company does not address that exposure. With note exchanges tied to the split already settled and index reclassification already underway, investor attention is focused less on who leads each company than on how the litigation over liability allocation is resolved.