- Mario Gonzalez Padilla is the new finance chief at Panamerican Beverages Inc., the largest soft-drink bottler in Latin America–and one of the three largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world. Padilla replaces Paulo Sacchi, who will become general manager of the company’s Brazilian operations.
Prior to joining Panamericana, Padilla was CFO at Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana, Mexcico’s largest railroad company. Before that, he held a variety of positions at Dow Chemical Co. over a period of twelve years. Padilla is a graduate of both George Washington University and American University in Washington, D.C. He also holds a degree from the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico.
Despite the recession, consumers in Latin America are apparently still downing plenty of soda. Managers at the Miami-based Panamerican Beverages say they’re holding tight to revised expectations for 2001. The company expects to post net income of around $112 million. Managers at Panamerican predict volume will grow about two percent for the year, with operating profits increasing a sizeable 50 percent.
- Specialty chemicals maker MacDermid Inc. named John Malfettone,to the top finance post. Malfettone, a former managing director at General Electric Co., had previously worked at GE Equity, the private equity arm of GE, since 1990. He was also vice president and controller for GE Capital, and vice president of finance within the office of the executive vice president at GE Capital. Prior to his stint at GE, Malfettone was a partner at KPMG Peat Marwick. He earned a B.S. degree in accounting from the University of Connecticut.
“Our recent dramatic growth has challenged our management capacity. John’s role in finance at GE gives him the world-class business process background vital to our future growth,” said CEO Dan Leever in a statement.
MacDermid, which was founded in 1922, has annual sales of approximately $900 million. The company is located in Waterbury, Connecticut, a town once famous for its brass mills. Also, the clock tower at the train station in Waterbury is mentioned in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.”
You don’t get this kind of information just anywhere.
- J. Grant Smith has been hired to head the finance department at Clarkston State Bank. The bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Clarkston Financial Corporation. Smith joins the company from New Century Bancorp where he was executive vice president and chief financial officer responsible for all financial functions.
Prior to that position, Smith was treasurer and interim CFO at Sterling Bancorp. He also served as a senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and spent some time at the U.S. Department of Treasury. Smith holds an M.S. degree in finance and bachelor of business administration from Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration in Troy, Michigan. He is a member of the Financial Managers Society.
- Management at e-commerce software provider Mobius Management Systems Inc. appointed Peter Takiff to the CFO post. He succeeds Dave Gordon, interim chief financial officer, who was promoted to vice president of finance and treasurer.
Takiff’s resume is one of the more interesting you’ll come across. Prior to joining Mobius, he was chief financial officer at Flooz.com, an online gift currency company which shut down in August. That company ran into trouble when stolen credit card numbers were used to make fraudulent purchases on the site. Before working at Flooz.com, Takiff was chief financial officer at Tommy Boy Music. Now an affiliate of AOL Time Warner, Tommy Boy Music was one of the first record labels promoting rap and hip hop music back in the early Eighties.