ST. LOUIS, Jan. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Bunge North America, the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), announced that it has promoted George Allard to vice president and chief financial officer.  Allard replaces Todd Bastean who was promoted to chief executive officer for Bunge North America effective June 1, 2013.  In addition, Matt Gibson joined Bunge North America as vice president and general manager of its grain operations.<br /><br />Allard joined Bunge in 2004 as treasurer of Bunge North America.  He then served as chief financial officer for the company's Canadian operations and for Bunge Latin America before returning to Bunge North America where he served as head of North America's milling operations before moving to his most recent role as vice president and general manager of North America's oils business.<br /><br />"George's experience leading key business units along with his financial background provide the right skills for this position and we look forward to his continued leadership," said Todd Bastean, president and CEO, Bunge North America.  "We are also pleased to have Matt join our team.  He is a well-respected leader in the industry who brings to Bunge a successful track record in facility and trading management."<br /><br />Gibson joined Bunge from Gavilon where he most recently served as regional vice president of its northern grain group.  He has more than 18 years of experience in the industry having been responsible for trading and operational management.  Gibson began his career as a merchandiser trainee for Continental Grain in 1995 and also worked for the ConAgra Trade Group which became a part of Gavilon.<br /><br />About Bunge North America<br />Bunge North America (www.bungenorthamerica.com), the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), is a vertically integrated food and feed ingredient company, supplying raw and processed agricultural commodities and specialized food ingredients to a wide range of customers in the livestock, poultry, food processor, foodservice and bakery industries.  With headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, Bunge North America and its subsidiaries operate grain elevators, oilseed processing plants, edible oil refineries and packaging facilities, and mills in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.<br /><br />About Bunge Limited<br />Bunge Limited (www.bunge.com, NYSE: BG) is a leading global agribusiness and food company operating in approximately 40 countries with over 35,000 employees.  Bunge buys, sells, stores and transports oilseeds and grains to serve customers worldwide; processes oilseeds to make protein meal for animal feed and edible oil products for commercial customers and consumers; produces sugar and ethanol from sugarcane; mills wheat and corn to make ingredients used by food companies; and sells fertilizer in North and South America.  Founded in 1818, the company is headquartered in White Plains, New York.<br /><br />Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements<br />This press release contains both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather reflect our current expectations and projections about our future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. We have tried to identify these forward-looking statements by using words including "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "intend," "estimate," "continue" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. The following important factors, among others, could affect our business and financial performance: industry conditions, including fluctuations in supply, demand and prices for agricultural commodities and other raw materials and products used in our business; fluctuations in energy and freight costs and competitive developments in our industries; the effects of weather conditions and the outbreak of crop and animal disease on our business; global and regional agricultural, economic, financial and commodities market, political, social and health conditions; the outcome of pending regulatory and legal proceedings; our ability to complete, integrate and benefit from acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and strategic alliances; our ability to achieve the efficiencies, savings and other benefits anticipated from our cost reduction, margin improvement and other business optimization initiatives; changes in government policies, laws and regulations affecting our business, including agricultural and trade policies, tax regulations and biofuels legislation; and other factors affecting our business generally. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and except as otherwise required by federal securities law, we do not have any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.