DowDuPont says Andrew Liveris to step down, names CEO for new Dow

(Reuters) - U.S. chemicals producer DowDuPont Inc said on Monday its Executive Chairman Andrew Liveris will step down on April 1 and named Jim Fitterling as the chief executive of Dow upon the completion of the spinoff of its materials science unit.

Last month, DowDuPont said it was pushing ahead with its plans to split into three separate units, starting with the materials science business by the end of the first quarter of 2019.

The specialty products will be called DuPont and the agricultural unit will be named Corteva Agriscience. Their spinoffs are expected to start by June 1, 2019.

Dow and DuPont completed their $130 billion merger in September.

On Monday, the company said Liveris will continue as a director of the combined board until July 1, his previously announced retirement date from the company.

"With that transformation complete and Dow entering into its next phase of growth, now is the right time for me to effect my previously announced plan to transition and then to retire," Liveris said in a statement.

The company said its Chief Financial Officer Howard Ungerleider will serve as Dow's CFO.

(Reporting by Taenaz Shakir and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan and Arun Koyyur)