(Adds details on Van den Akker, Bunge)
By Tom Polansek
Sept 15 (Reuters) - Cargill Inc said on Tuesday a former executive, who recently left rival Louis Dreyfus Corp , will rejoin the U.S.-based commodity trader as one of six people who set corporate strategy.
Gert-Jan van den Akker on Dec. 1 will join the Cargill Leadership Team, which also includes the company's chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief risk officer, according to a statement.
His appointment is the latest change among senior management at Cargill, one of the world's largest privately held corporations and a top commodities trader.
Last week, Cargill said Chief Executive David MacLennan will replace his predecessor, Gregory Page, as chairman of the company's board.
Van den Akker, known as G.J., declined to comment. He will be based in Geneva.
In June, Van den Akker said he had left Louis Dreyfus Commodities to pursue other opportunities, just a year after joining.
Van den Akker "will play an important role in driving Cargill's direction and goals," MacLennan said in the statement.
Van den Akker joined Cargill in 1987 and over more than two decades worked as a managing director of the ocean transportation business and served as a member of the company's risk committee.
Another Cargill executive, Patrick Bowe, will join smaller rival The Andersons Inc in November, The Andersons said last week.
Cargill is among four "ABCD" companies that dominate the flow of agricultural goods around the world, competing against Archer Daniels Midland Co, Bunge Ltd and Louis Dreyfus.
Recently, the companies have posted weak earnings despite a massive U.S. harvest last year, which increased the volume of grain available to transport, process and store. Another large U.S. harvest is expected this autumn.
Last month, Cargill reported a net loss of $51 million in the quarter ended May 31, compared with a profit of $376 million a year earlier.
In another corporate move, Bunge's controller, Karen Roebuck, has moved into a new job "focused on management processes and controls," according to a regulatory filing on Monday. Matt Simmons, chief accounting and risk officer for Talen Energy, was named the new controller and principal accounting officer.
A Bunge spokeswoman did not respond to questions about the change.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago and Sarah McFarlane in London; Editing by Matthew Lewis)