- Specialty chemical maker, Hercules, Inc., did some heavy lifting on the executive front, naming its current vice chairman, George MacKenzie, CFO. MacKenzie replaces Van Billet, who left the Wilmington, Del.-based company to pursue other interests. “Van has been a significant contributor to the company during his time with Hercules,” Hercules CEO Thomas Gossage said in a statement. “We are sorry to see him leave.”
- Encore: Internet hosting company Exodus Communications, Inc. announced that Dick Stoltz, the company’s senior advisor for strategy and finance, has resumed his responsibilities as CFO and executive vice president of finance on a temporary basis. Stoltz had stepped down from his positions as CFO and chief operating officer in January 2000. R. Marshall Case, who had succeeded Stoltz, is leaving the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company for personal reasons. Stoltz will take over the day-to-day financial management of Exodus while a search is underway for Case’s replacement. Stoltz was CFO and COO of Exodus from October 1995 to January 2000. In January 2000 the company’s stock had risen to a high of nearly $69. Yesterday it closed at $9.60 a share.
- Ready To Wear:
Veritas Software Corp., an independent supplier of storage-management software, promoted CFO Ken Lonchar to EVP. Lonchar, who is responsible for the Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s corporate accounting, strategic planning, financial reporting, treasury, tax, investor relations, and stock administration functions, was previously senior vice president and CFO.
- Going Public:
Public Service Enterprise Group,, a Newark, N.J.-based public utility holding company, named Thomas O’Flynn as its new CFO, effective July 1. O’Flynn, currently a managing director at Morgan Stanley, replaces Robert Murray, who is retiring as vice president and CFO after holding the positions since 1992.
- Put It in Writing:
Wausau-Mosinee Paper Corp., a Mosinee, Wis.-based premium printing and writing paper manufacturer, named Scott Doescher as CFO and SVP of finance. Doescher was previously VP of finance at the company’s printing and writing unit.
- Going Pro: Sporting goods retailer, Hibbett Sporting Goods, Inc. named retail veteran Gary Smith as its new CFO. Smith succeeds Susan Fitzgibbon, who resigned from the Birmingham, Ala.-based company April 2. Prior to joining Hibbett, Smith worked for regional department store chain Parisianand was most recently CFO of wholesale distributor Moore Handley.
- Molded to Perfection:
Zindart Limited, a Hong Kong- based turnkey maker of die-cast, injection-molded, and paper products, named Phibe Wong as CFO. Prior to joining Zindart, Wong held the position of regional finance director at Carlsberg Brewery Hong Kong Limited, where she played a major role in improving the internal control systems and negotiating contracts for the international company. Wong holds a bachelor of social sciences degree from the University of Hong Kong. She is a qualified accountant in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Hong Kong and is also a certified information systems auditor in the United States.
- The Power Is Out:
Lightning Rod Software, a provider of multi-channel, real-time customer sales and loyalty solutions for E- businesses, cut 12 of its 30 employees, including its CFO, Jeffrey D. Skie, in a cost-cutting effort to conserve operating resources. The Minneapolis-based company said the staff reductions were effective May 1, and the CFO’s responsibilities would be assumed by the controller. Lightning Rod said without added funding, it would not be able to maintain any significant active operations by Aug 1. It said it planned to continue exploring additional strategic alternatives.
- Leaving the Island:
Digital Island, a San Francisco, Calif.-based provider of managed Internet infrastructure, announced the resignation of its CFO, Tom Thompson. Thompson is taking time off to pursue personal interests. The company has started a search for a new CFO.
- In Dolphin We Trust:
The Town and Country Trust, a Baltimore-based, self-administered and self-managed, multi-family real estate investment trust, announced that James Dolphin, 51, has joined the company as SVP and CFO, a newly created position. Dolphin previously served as EVP, CFO, and a director of Richmond, Va.-based United Dominion Realty Trust through 1998. During his 20-year tenure with United Dominion, he held positions of increasing responsibility, including overseeing its finance, accounting, information services, human resources, investor relations, and legal departments.
- Seek And You Shall Find:
Icagen, a drug-discovery-and- development company based in Research Triangle Park, N.C, has expanded its senior management team with the addition of Richard D. Katz as CFO and SVP of finance and corporate development. Prior to joining Icagen, Katz was a VP in the health-care group at Goldman Sachs & Co.