• American International Group Inc. fired chief financial officer Howard Smith and vice president for reinsurance Christian Milton. Smith took a leave of absence from AIG last week on the same day that Maurice Greenberg was forced out as chief executive officer. Both Smith and Milton were fired, however, after reportedly refusing to answer questions from federal investigators who are probing AIG’s relationships with several reinsurers.
Smith’s duties were assumed last week by Steven Bensinger, who was named executive vice president and CFO when Smith was placed on leave. Co-chief operating officer and vice chairman Martin Sullivan took on the roles of CEO and president; Greenberg still serves as nonexecutive chairman.
• Harry L. You departed from the CFO post at Oracle Corp. to join business consultancy BearingPoint Inc. as chief executive officer. Upon joining BearingPoint, You was granted a stock option to purchase 2,000,000 shares and an award of 750,000 restricted stock units, each of which vests over a number of years. You, who resigned from Oracle after only eight months, was also previously the chief financial officer of Accenture.
• Yum Brands Inc. formally appointed Rick Carucci chief financial officer. Carucci, the CFO-designate since last fall, takes over for Dave Deno, who was named chief operating officer of the Louisville, Kentucky-based fast-food operator in October. Carucci previously served as executive vice president and chief development officer of Yum Restaurants International. Carucci has also served as CFO for that division and for Yum’s Asia Pacific region.
• Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. appointed Katherine L. Abbott vice president and treasurer. Abbott, who will oversee treasury and investor relations, will report to chief financial officer Carl Landeck. Before joining the Chicago-based fitness-club operator, Abbott was a vice president of the restructuring group for J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. She has also served as vice president and treasurer for truck-rental company Budget Group Inc.
• Tableware manufacturer Oneida Ltd. announced that president and chief executive officer Peter Kallet resigned. He will be succeeded in those posts by board member Terry Westbrook, who most recently has been a managing principal in private-equity transaction activities. Previously, Westbrook served as a chief financial officer at The Quaker Oats Co., General Binding Corp., and Utilicorp United. Kallet will remain chairman through the annual meeting in May 2005, when he will assume the new position of vice chairman for strategic alliances and corporate development.
• Cathy R. Smith will join consumable materials company Kennametal Inc. as executive vice president and chief financial officer effective April 11. Smith comes to Latrobe, Pennsylvania-based Kennametal from the Bell Systems business segment of Textron Inc., a global multi-industry company, where she was executive vice president and CFO. Prior to joining Textron, she served as vice president and CFO of the Intelligence and Information Systems Business of defense and aerospace giant Raytheon Co.
• Jacksonville, Florida-based Interline Brands Inc. announced that chief financial officer Charles Blackmon, who joined the company in June 2004, has resigned for personal reasons. Vice president of finance and treasurer Thomas Tossavainen, who joined Interline in 2001, was named acting CFO of the direct-marketing company.
• Nutritional-supplement manufacturer Reliv International Inc. promoted Steven D. Albright to vice president and chief financial officer. Albright, who joined Reliv in 1992 as controller, was named vice president of finance in 2002. Before joining the Chesterfield, Missouri-based company, Albright was assistant controller for sneaker maker Kangaroos USA Inc.
• Automotive-market forecasting firm CSM Worldwide named Robert J. Swistock chief financial officer. Before joining the Farmington Hills, Michigan-based CSM, Swistock was president and founder of Corporate Financial Advisors in Ann Arbor, a strategic financial planning service for business owners. Previously, he held CFO positions at Reynard Motorsport Inc., CGAS, Inc., and Patrick Petroleum Co.
• Molex Inc., an electronic components maker, named David D. Johnson chief financial officer effective May 16. Johnson rejoins the Lisle, Illinois-based company from Sypris Solutions Inc. in Louisville, Kentucky, where he has been CFO since 1998. During his earlier 12-year stint with Molex, Johnson served as regional controller for the company’s Far East North region, as financial director for its New Venture and Acquisitions Group, and as financial director for its Far East South region. He replaces Robert B. Mahoney, who has been acting CFO since November and who will remain with Molex in his roles as executive vice president and president of Molex’s Far East South region.