• Tyco International Ltd. announced that David J. Fitzpatrick resigned on March 24 as executive vice president and chief financial officer. The conglomerate noted in a regulatory filing that FitzPatrick’s “voluntary” termination was effective March 7, but that he would remain with the company until year’s end, serving as a special advisor to the chairman and CEO with the same base salary and benefits. Tyco did not provide a reason for FitzPatrick’s resignation.
The company website has already published the name of FitzPatrick’s replacement, noting that Christopher J. Coughlin has served as finance chief “since March 2005.” Coughlin joined Tyco after serving as COO at Interpublic Group. Before that, he spent six years as CFO of Pharmacia Corp.
Under his agreement, FitzPatrick will receive a bonus for the 2005 fiscal year, which ends in September. For the 2004 fiscal year, FitzPatrick earned more than $4.4 million, including a salary of $765,000 and a bonus of $1.56 million. FitzPatrick joined Tyco in September 2002, succeeding Mark Swartz, who resigned amid the company’s accounting and fraud scandal.
• The Yankee Candle Company Inc. named Bruce H. Besanko senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer. Besanko joins the South Deerfield (Mass.) specialty-candle manufacturer from Best Buy Company Inc., the consumer-electronics retailer, where he was vice president of finance. Before joining Best Buy in 2002, Besanko was a finance manager for Sears, Roebuck and Co.
• Eddie Bauer Inc., the outdoor-inspired clothing and gear retailer, said Timothy McLaughlin will join the company as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Prior to his appointment at the Redmond, Washington-based company, McLaughlin served as vice president and corporate controller at AT&T Wireless Services Inc. His experience also includes finance positions at Sybios Logic, NCR Corp., and Union Carbide Corp.
• Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC, a Moscow-based maker of dairy products, juice, and bottled water, announced that chief financial officer Vladimir Preobrajenski will be leaving the company as soon as a successor is hired. The finance chief is at the end of his three-year contract with the food and beverage company that claims to be the third Russian company to ever list on the New York Stock Exchange. Preobrajesnki joined Wimm-Bill-Dann in 2002 after the company’s initial public offering on the NYSE.
• Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc., a provider of global air cargo services, named Michael L. Barna senior vice president and chief financial officer effective April 11. Barna will also serve as finance chief for AAWW’s subsidiaries Atlas Air Inc. and Polar Air Cargo Inc. Barna comes to the Purchase, New York-based airline from finance-advisory firm Trafin Corp., where he was a partner and managing director. He also worked for General Electric Co.’s GE Capital Corp. from 1988 to 2003. His last role there was executive vice president of the aviation services division.
• HSBC North America appointed Lee Whatcott chief financial officer of Prospect Heights, Illinois-based HSBC Auto Finance. Before joining HSBC, Whatcott was CFO at financial holding company Westcorp. He spent 17 years at Westcorp, where he was named CFO in 1995.
• Swift Transportation Co. appointed Glynis Bryan executive vice president and chief financial officer. Bryan, who will join the Phoenix-based trucking company later this month, is the former CFO of APL Logistics Services. She also spent over 16 years with Ryder Systems Inc. in several finance positions.
• Starting in May, Byron Pollitt, the chief financial officer of San Francisco-based apparel retailer Gap Inc. will be assigned the additional duties of overseeing the company’s real estate holdings. The new responsibility is a result of the resignation of Anne Gust, the company’s chief administrative officer.
• Littleton, Colorado-based Time Warner Telecom Inc. named Mark A. Peters senior vice president and chief financial officer. Peters has been acting CFO since November. He’s been with the telephony provider since 1998 as vice president and treasurer.