ST. LOUIS — Paul Fribourg, who joined Bunge’s board of directors in 2018, resigned from the company’s board of directors on Dec. 5, according to a Securities Exchange and Commission (SEC) filing. The resignation is effective Dec. 31.

Mr. Fribourg, who has been chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Grain since 1997, joined the board four years ago when Bunge was struggling and a takeover target. Continental Grain carried out an activist campaign against Bunge in 2018, winning board seats and pushing for change.

Gregory Heckman, who joined the Bunge board of directors around the same time as Mr. Fribourg, eventually was named president and CEO of the company. Under Mr. Heckman, Bunge has nearly doubled its market value. Earlier this week, Fitch Ratings revised its outlook for St. Louis-based Bunge to “positive” from “stable.”

The SEC filing said Mr. Fribourg is resigning from the board and his positions as a member of the Enterprise Risk Management Committee and Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Committee “for personal reasons and not as a result of any dispute of disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company’s operations, policies or practices.”