• Microsoft Corp. named Chris Liddell as chief financial officer effective, May 9. He replaces John Connors, who announced in January that he would leave the company he joined 16 years ago — he became CFO in 1999 — for Seattle-area venture capital firm Ignition Partners LLC. Connors’s resignation became effective March 31.
Until Liddell’s resignation Monday, he was senior vice president and chief financial officer of International Paper Co.; earlier he had been chief executive officer of Carter Holt Harvey Ltd., the company’s New Zealand-based affiliate. Before his 10-year career at International Paper, Liddell was a managing director and joint CEO in the New Zealand offices of Credit Suisse First Boston
• At Stamford, Connecticut-based International Paper, chairman and chief executive officer John V. Faraci named executive vice president Marianne M. Parrs as interim finance chief while the company searches for a permanent successor to Liddell. Parrs, who will retain her current responsibilities, has served the company in a variety of roles for 30 years, including four years as the company’s CFO.
• Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke Energy announced a number of changes in the finance department, effective June 1. Vice president and controller Keith Butler will become vice president of corporate tax; he succeeds Cary Flynn, who is retiring. Steve Young, group vice president and chief financial officer for the company’s Duke Power unit, will succeed Butler as Duke Energy vice president and controller.
Myron Caldwell, vice president and treasurer of Duke Energy, will succeed Young as group vice president and CFO for Duke Power. Lindsay Hall, group vice president and CFO for Duke Energy Americas, will succeed Caldwell as vice president and treasurer of Duke Energy. Finally, Lon Mitchell, group vice president and chief restructuring officer for Duke Energy Americas, will succeed Hall as group vice president and CFO of Duke Energy Americas.
• Triad Guaranty Inc. announced that its subsidiary Triad Guaranty Insurance Corp. hired Eric B. Dana as senior vice president and chief financial officer. He will report to Ron Kessinger, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based mortgage insurer. Dana’s past experience includes the CFO post at The Bankers Bank in Atlanta and at Lighthouse Financial Services, where he was also chief operating officer.
• Mark Burgess has been named executive vice president of finance and chief financial officer of Anchor Glass Container Corp., effective May 2. Burgess joins the Tampa, Florida-based company from Clean Harbors Inc., a provider of hazardous-waste management services, where he was executive vice president of finance and administration and CFO. Previously, he served in senior financial positions with J.L. French Automotive Casting Inc., Trailmobile Corp., Fruehauf Canada, and Chase Manhattan Bank.
Peter Reno, who has been serving as interim CFO since August, will continue to lead that committee until the company hires a new chief executive officer. Former finance chief Darrin Campbell, who became president and chief operating officer last summer and was later named CEO, resigned last month.
• Edward H. Bastian will join Atlanta-based Acuity Brands Inc. as senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective June 1. Bastian, most recently the senior vice president of finance and controller for Delta Air Lines Inc., previously served as vice president of finance and controller of Frito-Lay International and as an audit partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Karen J. Holcom, who has served as interim finance chief since Vernon J. Nagel was promoted to chairman and chief executive officer, will continue in her roles as vice president and controller of manufacturer of lighting fixtures.
• JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. announced the promotion of two finance executives. Richard Pitts, the treasurer and a 23-year veteran of the Hampstead, Maryland-based men’s apparel company, has been given the additional title of vice president. Controller Arthur Seibel has also added the vice president title; he joined last year after serving in various accounting and senior management positions with PricewaterhouseCoopers and several large manufacturing companies.
• DNA testing services provider Orchid BioSciences Inc. appointed Raymond J. Land as senior vice president and chief financial officer effective June 6. He held those same positions at companies including Genencor and West Pharmaceutical Services Inc.; previously, he served in finance and managerial capacities at Campbell Soup Co. Inc. Land succeeds Michael Spicer, who left the Princeton, New Jersey-based company in December to accept another position.
• In Veritas Medical Diagnostics Inc. announced that Martin Thorp has joined the Inverness, Scotland-based company as chief financial officer. Since 2002 Thorp has been an independent consultant and has served as a non-executive board member of Grant Thornton. Previously he had a long career with Arthur Andersen, serving as global managing partner for corporate finance in both the New York and London offices.
• Watchfire, a provider of enterprise software and services to manage online risk, named William B. Gerraughty Jr. as chief financial officer. Before joining the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company, Gerraughty was senior vice president and CFO of telecom equipment provider NMS Communications; previously, he held those titles at Infinium Software.
• Lawrence C. Best, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Boston Scientific Corp., has joined the board of biopharmaceutical company Archemix Corp. A former partner with Ernst & Young, Best qualifies as a financial expert on Archemix’s audit committee; he serves in a similar capacity on the boards of Biogen Idec and Haemonetics Corp.