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Meet the Executives Peter C HemkenVice President - Strategic Direction & Business Development - Pioneer Hi-Bred



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Peter C. Hemken is vice president - Strategic Direction & Business Development for Pioneer Hi-Bred. He has responsibilities within Pioneer for business development, product design and trait strategy, and businesswide strategy development. Mr. Hemken also provides leadership and coordination for strategy and business development between DuPont Crop Protection and Pioneer.

Mr. Hemken joined DuPont in 1977 and worked in engineering, technical, manufacturing and marketing management roles in the Chemicals, Photo Products and Fibers Departments, located in Houston, Tex.; Richmond, Va.; Rochester, N.Y.; Kinston, N.C.; New York City and Wilmington, Del.

In 1989, Mr. Hemken transferred to Tokyo, Japan, with responsibility for the DuPont Nonwovens businesses in the Asia Pacific region. In 1994, he assumed responsibility for the DuPont Nylon textile fibers business in the region. He returned to the United States in 1997 as global planning manager, DuPont Nylon, and was assigned in 1999 as global business director for the industrial nylon business unit serving the tire and rubber goods industries.

Mr. Hemken was named chief executive officer of DuPont-Sabanci International, more recently known as Kordsa Global A.S. and a leading global supplier of nylon and polyester tire cord yarn and fabric, in 2000. In 2006 Mr. Hemken was named vice president and general manager of the BioMaterials businesses in DuPont Applied BioSciences. In 2007, responsibility for Agriculture & Nutrition business development and Pioneer functions were added. He was named to his current position in July 2008.

Born in Webster City, Iowa, Mr. Hemken graduated with honors from Iowa State University in 1977 with a BS degree in Chemical Engineering and earned an MBA degree from the University of Richmond in 1982. He maintains an interest in the family farming operations and an automobile museum in Williams, Iowa.

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