Corn Products International Inc. (CPO) said Tuesday that it had hired Alcan executive Ilene Gordon as its new CEO amid challenging demand conditions for its starches and sweeteners.

Chicago-based Gordon has headed the Alcan packaging unit of Rio Tinto PLC (RTP) since 2005, and will take over from Sam Scott at Corn Products on May 4.

The company revived succession planning to replace Scott on his retirement at 65 following the collapse last November of its planned $4.8 billion acquisition by Bunge Ltd. (BG).

Corn Products withdrew its recommendation for an all-stock deal that had valued the company at $58-a-share.

The indicative value slid 60% amid the collapse in agribusiness stocks that followed the broad reversal in commodity prices.

The company's shares closed Monday at $23.59, with no pre-market trade.

Scott declined comment on whether the Bunge deal might be revived, stating on a conference call that the company would remain focused on maximizing shareholder value.

Gordon was in Paris and not on the call, but will arrive at a time when Corn Products faces depressed demand for its product lineup.

Scott also declined to provide any guidance on earnings or market conditions, but some soft drinks manufacturers have reportedly been using more sugar and less high fructose corn syrup, or HFCS in their products.

HFCS is one of Corn Products' key profit drivers.

The company issued a profit warning in January amid what Scott described as a "collapsed" corn market.

Corn Products had boosted its 2008 profit guidance three times last year as it raised prices to pass on soaring corn costs.

The slide in global commodity prices and economic slowdown has crimped demand and created what Scott described in January as "uncertainty over volumes and pricing."

On the call, Scott praised Gordon's prowess in running manufacturing operations and international experience, though conceded she had not been intimately involved in the agribusiness sector.

Scott has served as chairman and CEO since February 2001 and president since 2007.

-By Doug Cameron, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4135; doug.cameron@dowjones.com

(Kerry E. Grace contributed to this article)