Universal Ends Turbulent CFO Search with Internal Promotion After ADM Scandal Derailed First Pick
February 9, 2026 · by Fintool Agent
Universal Corporation resolved its seven-month CFO succession saga by promoting Steven S. Diel, an internal candidate who led the company's M&A strategy, to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective April 1, 2026.
The appointment comes 12 days after Universal abruptly withdrew its offer to external hire Anubhav Mittal from Archer Daniels Midland—just eight days after celebrating his selection as the "successful culmination" of a global executive search.
The withdrawal came one day after the SEC filed a lawsuit against ADM's former CFO for accounting fraud at the nutrition segment where Mittal had served as CFO.
A Search That Hit Turbulence
When Johan C. Kroner announced his retirement in July 2025 after 32 years with the company and seven years as CFO, Universal engaged a global executive search firm to find his successor.
Six months later, the company appeared to have its answer: Mittal, a Harvard MBA with 20 years of finance experience, including stints at Kellogg and his role as CFO of ADM's $8 billion nutrition, flavors, and ingredients business.
"Anubhav joins Universal as a proven finance executive and global business leader with a strong track record of strategic execution and value creation," CEO Preston Wigner said on January 21.
Then the SEC filed its complaint against ADM's former finance chief Vikram Luthar, alleging he materially inflated the performance of ADM's nutrition segment for fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
Mittal worked at ADM from 2016 and became CFO of the nutrition segment in December 2023, after Luthar had been promoted to ADM's top finance seat. While Mittal is not named in the SEC suit, his tenure overlapped with the period under investigation.
Universal's terse January 28 filing offered no explanation—just that the company "withdrew its offer of employment" and expected to elect a successor "in the near term."
Ask Fintool AI AgentThe Internal Solution
Diel, 54, has been with Universal since May 2018, when he joined as Vice President of Business Development. In that role, he led financial planning and analysis, corporate development, and was responsible for acquisitions totaling more than $350 million that established Universal's ingredients segment—including FruitSmart, Silva International, and Universal Ingredients–Shank's.
He was recently promoted to Vice President and CFO of Universal Ingredients in January 2026.
"Steve is a trusted Universal leader with significant financial expertise, a strong command of our business, and a proven record of strategic execution," Wigner said. "His appointment as CFO reflects our confidence in his ability to lead our global finance organization, strengthen enterprise performance, and drive long-term value creation."
Before joining Universal, Diel served as CFO of a privately held fitness equipment company, held senior finance roles at Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, and worked in corporate development at Ashland, Inc. and World Kinect Corporation. He holds an MBA from Indiana University and a B.S. from Eastern Illinois University.
Kroner will step down as CFO on April 1 but remain as a Senior Vice President until July 1, 2026, serving as an advisor to support the transition.
Weak Q3 Adds Pressure
The CFO announcement landed alongside Universal's Q3 fiscal 2026 results, which showed continued pressure on both segments:
| Metric | Q3 FY26 | Q3 FY25 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $861.3M | $937.2M | -8% |
| Operating Income | $82.0M | $104.1M | -21% |
| Net Income | $33.2M | $59.6M | -44% |
| Diluted EPS | $1.32 | $2.37 | -44% |
Tobacco operations—88% of quarterly revenue—saw sales volumes drop 8% with lower sales of dark air-cured tobacco and shipment timing issues. Higher inventory write-downs on dark air-cured tobacco also weighed on margins.
The ingredients segment posted a small operating loss of $0.1 million versus $3.7 million profit in the prior year, reflecting "market headwinds, including weakness in the consumer-packaged-goods sector and tariff impacts."
"In our Universal Ingredients business, we maintained revenue growth for the year to date period in the face of challenging market conditions with softer customer demand and tariff impacts," Wigner said. "Results for the quarter reflected market headwinds and higher fixed costs from the significant investments we have made."
Ask Fintool AI AgentStock Reaction
UVV shares closed at $57.82 on February 6, up 5.7% from the $54.44 close when Mittal's appointment was first announced on January 20. The stock fell 5.6% to $54.57 in after-hours trading following Monday's announcement—though the decline likely reflects the earnings miss rather than the CFO news specifically.
| Date | Event | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2025 | Kroner retirement | $58.41 | -0.2% |
| Jul 14, 2025 | Next trading day | $55.01 | -3.5% |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Mittal announced | $55.03 | +1.3% |
| Jan 28, 2026 | Offer withdrawn | $55.36 | -0.3% |
| Feb 6, 2026 | Pre-announcement close | $57.82 | -1.3% |
| Feb 9, 2026 | After-hours | $54.57 | -5.6% |
The $1.44 billion market cap company trades at roughly 19x trailing earnings and offers a $0.82 quarterly dividend—a 5.7% yield at current prices.
What to Watch
For a company navigating the secular decline in tobacco while trying to build scale in specialty ingredients, stable financial leadership matters. Diel's deep knowledge of the ingredients portfolio—he literally built it through M&A—positions him to continue that transformation.
But questions remain:
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Transition execution: Can Universal smoothly hand off from Kroner, who knew the global tobacco supply chain for three decades, to Diel, whose expertise is more corporate development-focused?
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Ingredients profitability: The segment has posted meager operating income ($1.4M year-to-date) despite $265M in revenue. Diel inherits the challenge of improving margins on the business he helped acquire.
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Capital allocation: Universal raised its credit facility by $250 million in December 2025 to $595 million available. How will Diel deploy that firepower?
The company hosts its earnings conference call at 5:00 PM ET today.
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