Veteran Dow Chemical chief executive Andrew Liveris will leave the company by mid-2017, after Dow completes its planned merger with rival DuPont.
Dow, a giant in the chemical and agriculture industries and maker of products ranging from corn seeds to plastic, struck a deal in   December to combine with DuPont to form a $US120 billion ($171bn) company that would have about $US90bn in sales.
The new firm, if the deal is approved, is expected to cut some $US3bn in costs before splitting into three separate businesses 18 to 24 months after the merger. 
Mr Liveris, an Australian who has served as Dow's chief executive for more than a decade, said yesterday that he wouldn't stay on to lead one of the new businesses. Late last year, he hinted that the deal was a culmination of his tenure at the company and that he was nearing retirement.
In response to activist-investor Dan Loeb and his hedge fund Third Point, which had called for Mr Liveris to step down, Dow said Mr Liveris "does not contemplate serving" as CEO of the new material-sciences business that would emerge from the breakup.
Third Point wouldn't be launching a proxy fight for board changes at Dow this year, which Mr Loeb privately had threatened in the past year, said sources.
"We thank Mr Liveris for his role in effectuating the Dow/DuPont merger and wish him success in his next chapter," Mr Loeb said in a statement. "We look forward to engaging constructively with the new management teams" at combined Dow/DuPont's post-breakup companies.
Dow also announced the elevation of vice-chairman and chief operating officer James Fitterling, who as president and COO will help shepherd the merger and assist with the transition. Dow said the companies hoped to complete their combination by the end of this year.
Dow said that profit rose in its latest quarter as a result of a gain stemming from the sale of a portion of its chlorine business.
Revenue, meanwhile, slid 20 per cent due mostly to price declines and adverse foreign--exchange rates. Results topped expectations and sent shares up 3.3 per cent in pre-market trading.
The company said consumer demand remained strong even amid worries that global economies were precarious. Sales volume rose 4 per cent last year, excluding the impact of acquisitions and -divestitures.
"The global economy continues to be volatile with consistent demand being driven by the consumer, especially in the US and increasingly from China," Mr Liveris said.
"We believe low energy prices are a net benefit and will help overcome negative investment sentiment in other sectors." In Dow's plastics segment, its largest, cheap raw materials helped push that business's operating profit to a fourth-quarter -record of $US1.3bn.
In the fourth quarter, Dow separately completed its roughly $US5bn divestiture of Dow Chlorine Products.
The sales decline was offset by a large gain on the sale of the chlorine business in addition to reduced overhead costs and lower research and development spending.
For the quarter, Dow reported a profit of $US3.61bn, or $US2.94 a share, up from $US819 million, or US63 cents, a year earlier. Per-share results reflect the payout of preferred dividends.
Excluding a gain of $US1.96 a share resulting from the aforementioned divestiture, among other items, per-share earnings rose to US93c from US85c.
Revenue declined 20 per cent to $US11.46bn.Analysts projected US70c in adjusted earnings per share on $US11.2bn in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.