It’s the end of an era at Procter & Gamble Co. In a bold move, Erik G. Nelson announced his retirement from the Cincinnati-based packaged- goods company. P&G cheered the announcement of Nelson’s successor, former treasurer Clayton C. Daley. Nelson remarked that his 36 years with P&G, including 5 as CFO, had been a joy.
National Steel Corp. is reinforcing its financial foundation. The Mishawaka, Ind., company appointed Glenn H. Gage SVP and CFO. He is the first finance chief since National Steel was forced to restate earnings in December 1997. Gage was formerly CFO of UARCO (now part of Standard Register), a maker of business documents, in Dayton.
Home Improvement
Laurie Younger will be looking out for “Nightline”‘s bottom line. SVP of New York based ABC Inc., the television unit of The Walt Disney Co., Younger was named to the additional post of CFO. The position has been vacant since May, when Peter Murphy left to become EVP and chief strategic officer at Disney.
Joseph T. Doyle will supply his talents to U.S. Office Products Co. He was named EVP, treasurer, and CFO of the Washington, D.C.- based office-supplies company. Doyle succeeds Donald H. Platt, who was appointed to the post of EVP of strategic planning after seeing USOP through a broad restructuring (see “High Rollers,” April).
Larry K. Switzer can finally enjoy the fruits of his labor. He is retiring as SVP and CFO of Fruit of the Loom Inc. A replacement has yet to be named at the Chicago-based apparel manufacturer.
Healthy Choice
The welfare of United Healthcare Corp. is partly in the hands of Arnold H. Kaplan. He was named CFO of the Minneapolis managed-care company. Kaplan was formerly SVP and CFO of Air Products and Chemicals Inc. He takes over for David Koppe, who remains corporate VP and will oversee United Healthcare’s restructuring.
In other health-care news, Karl B. Wagner was selected as CFO of Pediatrix Medical Group Inc., a physician management practice firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The former controller succeeds Lawrence M. Mullen, who will remain as COO.
Don’t expect Bill Chiasson to sing the blues. He was recently named CFO of Levi Strauss & Co. He comes to the San Francisco-based maker of jeans and casual sportswear from Kraft Foods Inc., where he was SVP of finance and information systems. Chiasson takes over for George James, who retired in June at the age of 61.
Caught in the Web
Infoseek Corp.’s search for a CFO found one match. Remo Canessa was named to the post vacated when former CFO Les Wright was promoted to COO. Infoseek is an Internet portal and search-engine company located in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Christopher J. Baudouin will also be spending more time surfing. He was named CFO of Mecklermedia Corp., an Internet media company based in Westport, Conn. Baudouin succeeds Christopher S. Cardell, who will remain president and COO.
John Doster is gearing up for his new job as CFO of Stewart & Stevenson Services Inc. He succeeds Robert Hargrave, who remains CEO of the Houston-based maker of diesel and gas turbines. Doster was formerly an executive at General Electric Co.
Richard B. Goldman is fading out of the picture at PictureTel Corp. The VP and CFO is leaving the Andover, Mass., videoconferencing- equipment firm to “assess his career options.” A replacement has not yet been named.
Dominicks Finer Foods went shopping for a CFO and bagged Andrew A. Campbell. Before joining the Chicago-area supermarket operator, Campbell was CFO of Safety-Kleen Corp., in Elgin, Ill. He succeeds Darren W. Karst, who will resume his role as partner at parent Yucaipa Cos., but will remain on the board.
On a Quest
Henry C. Lo is replacing Bob L. Corey as CFO of Syquest Technology Inc. Before joining the Fremont, Calif., maker of removable computer- storage devices, Lo was treasurer of StoreMedia Inc. Robert A. Hagemann passed the test at Quest Diagnostics Inc. He was named VP and CFO of the Teterboro, N.J., provider of diagnostic testing and information services. The former controller succeeds Robert A. Carothers, who is retiring.
Clipped Wings
Boyd Givan’s early retirement as Boeing Co. VP and CFO has been causing a stir in Seattle. The local media, which track the gargantuan aerospace company the way air-traffic controllers track Boeing’s planes, suggest that the 62-year-old Givan ran afoul of president and COO Harry Stonecipher over Givan’s reluctance to share cost data broadly within the company. Givan also raised hackles by supporting conservative accounting measures for airliner development, spreading R&D costs over a relatively small number of planes and thus sacrificing some potential profit for caution’s sake, according to press accounts.
In describing for the Seattle Times a new, post-Givan policy to disseminate cost data to managers within the company, Stonecipher said Boeing needed “to get the data into the hands of the people who can do something about it.” Boeing CEO Phil Condit has also said that Givan’s successor would be in charge of creating new metrics for the company to use. The Seattle Times quoted a source as saying Givan’s departure “wasn’t his idea.”
Officially, Condit said Givan expressed a long- standing desire to retire after Boeing had integrated its blockbuster acquisitions of McDonnell Douglas Corp. (which brought Stonecipher to Boeing) and the aerospace business of Rockwell International Corp. The CEO credited Givan, a 32-year Boeing veteran, with providing leadership as CFO and with aiding long-term growth.
Givan had also been in the unenviable position of having to help Condit explain to Boeing directors and to investors why the recent boom in aircraft production hadn’t translated into profitability, and why the stock price languished. Under Givan, the company had a policy of not projecting earnings, but just in the weeks since his departure was announced, the company has been much freer about such projections.