GRAPEVINE

Tougher Than The Rest
Can the new CFO of auto-parts maker Federal- Mogul Corp., G. Michael Lynch, get the company running smoothly again? The Southfield, Mich.- based company has had a rough ride since last September, when it first announced that earnings would fail to meet analyst expectations.

The company's Wall Street woes stem from the 1998 acquisitions of a trio of parts makers-- T&N Plc, Cooper Automotive, and Fel-Pro Inc.-- designed to broaden Federal-Mogul's product offerings. But integrating those companies -- each almost as large as Federal-Mogul itself-- turned out to be tougher than anyone expected.

To make matters worse, the aftermarket business--parts sold for repairs and maintenance rather than to automakers --turned soft right when Federal-Mogul could least afford it. Fortunately, Lynch knows his way around a car-parts company. Prior to his 31/2 years as VP and controller at Dow Chemical, he was at Ford Motor Co. for 29 years, the last 3 spent integrating three parts-making divisions into the unit that became Visteon. "I got to see the business from a supplier standpoint, and I was also integrating three divisions," says Lynch. "That was one set of experiences that is very relevant [to Federal-Mogul.]"

Equity analyst Charles Brady of Credit Lyonnais Securities Inc. adds that if anyone has the experience to look under the hood and figure out what's not working at Federal- Mogul, it's Lynch. "Ford is particularly meticulous in its handling of financial affairs," explains Brady. "You couldn't survive 29 years at Ford without learning finance by osmosis, if not by desire. This guys knows how to do the job financially."

King Tutterow
Charles R. Tutterow, 34, has woven himself into the corporate fabric at Greenville, S.C.- based JPS Industries Inc. The textile concern hired Tutterow as EVP and CFO from Optical Resources Group Inc., where he served as SVP and head of finance. He fills a vacancy left by John Sanders, who departed in November.

John C. Angelella, 38, will iron out any finance wrinkles he can find at Speizman Industries Inc., headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. The former VP of finance and corporate controller of Esavio is succeeding James H. McCorkle III as VP of finance, secretary, treasurer, and CFO of the textile and industrial-laundry-equipment distributor. McCorkle left "to pursue other interests."

Dade Behring Inc.'s former SVP of business development, Nelson Chai, is plugging in as CFO at electronic communications network Archipelago Inc. This is a new position at the Chicago-based company.

Center Stage
The spotlight's on Kevin Hylton, who recently became CFO of media and entertainment firm The Ackerley Group. Hylton last served as director of finance for Nordstrom, Inc. He is replacing Denis Curley, who was named co-president and COO as part of a company restructuring.

CEC Entertainment Inc. is where a CFO can be a CFO, especially if you're Rodney Carter. Carter, 42, was appointed CFO of the Irving, Tex.-based owner of Chuck E. Cheese restaurants. He was previously CFO of J.C. Penney Credit. Carter assumes responsibilities left behind by Larry Page, who is relocating to California.

Garry K. McGuire is entering the telecom world as the new CFO of Avaya, the planned fourth- quarter spin-off of Lucent Technologies Inc.'s Enterprise Networks Group. McGuire previously served as president and CEO of Williams Communications Solutions LLC.

The Right Makeup
Richard W. Kunes is putting on his best face for Estée Lauder Cos., where he has been promoted from VP of financial administration and corporate controller to SVP and CFO. Robert J. Bigler, the New York­based cosmetics concern's last finance chief, is retiring at the end of the year.

May The Force Be With You
Comforce Corp., staff thyself. The Woodbury, N.Y.-based staffing, consulting, financial, and outsourcing services firm was forced to find a new CFO, after the departure of Robert Baldwin, and chose current EVP Harry V. Maccarrone, 52, as his replacement. Baldwin has positioned himself at Heartland Payment Systems, in Princeton, N.J.

There seems to be a revolving door at women's Web sites these days. Most recently, Women.com Networks Inc. CFO Michael Perry left the top finance spot to become head of finance at a private business-to-business Internet start- up. A search for his successor is under way.

Dot-Com Hopping
So Long, Salon.
Imagine his alarm last June as Todd Hagen, 41, then CFO of Salon.com, watched the stock of the online magazine drop to 11/16. Not good news for the finance exec, whose compensation included 75,000 options at a strike price of $2.92 per share, according to Salon.com's 1999 proxy statement.

But Hagen's disappointment was tempered by a call from San Francisco­ based AlarmX.com, a new B2B exchange for the security-alarm industry, asking him to sign on as CEO. "Part of the reason [I left] Salon," he says, "is that I've spent most of my career looking at business models, and [AlarmX.com's] just hit me over the head." Hagen says other factors in his decision to dot-com hop were the lure of the CEO title after 15 years as a CFO, and the challenge of growing a new company.

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