COFCO going for a song: Existing executive promoted to CFO role

COFCO International has appointed Helen Song its new chief financial officer. In that role, she reports directly to David Dong, chief executive officer of the trader.

Song is replacing Christy Da who is retiring after more than 27 years at COFCO Group. She is taking on the CFO role in addition to her current roles as executive committee member, VP and chief strategy and information officer.

She joined COFCO Group’s strategy division in 2010. Following the Group’s initial investments in Nidera and Noble Agri in 2013, Song was appointed VP of COFCO International with responsibility for the post-investment management platform.

On completion of the Nidera and Noble Agri acquisitions in 2017, she was made chief strategy officer, based at COFCO International’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. She took on the additional role of chief information officer in 2020.

Song started her career at China’s Ministry of Agriculture, and she also worked as a lawyer in capital markets including M&A and IPO in Beijing prior to joining COFCO Group. She has an MBA degree from Peking University and is a Chinese certified lawyer.