• Karl-Ludwig Kley, chief financial officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG since 1998, plans to depart the airline on September 1 to become deputy chairman of Merck KGaA. Earlier this week the German drugmaker (no relation to U.S.-based Merck & Co.) made an unsolicited $17.4 billion offer for Schering AG; in his new post, Kley would be responsible for the integration of Schering. He will also become general partner of E. Merck OHG, the company that oversees the Merck family’s 73 percent stake in the drugmaker. According to press accounts, Kley ‘s departure for Merck is contingent on termination of his contract with Lufthansa.
• Efthimios P. Sotos is the new finance chief of Jones Apparel Group Inc.; he takes over finance responsibility from Wesley R. Card, who will continue as chief operating officer. Sotos, who was promoted from executive vice president of strategic and financial planning and treasurer, joined the company in 1999 when it acquired Nine West Group. Jones also promoted senior vice president and corporate controller Patrick M. Farrell to executive vice president, reporting to Sotos.
• J. Donald Sherman has assumed the role of chief financial officer of Akamai Technologies Inc. Last fall, Sherman left IBM, where he was CFO of its Systems and Technology Group, to join Akamai as senior vice president and CFO-elect. His predecessor, Robert Cobuzzi, is retiring from the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based service provider for online business technology.
• Phillips-Van Heusen promoted executive vice president of finance Michael Shaffer to chief financial officer. Shaffer, a 15-year veteran of the shirt manufacturer, was named executive vice president in early 2005.
• At Internet security specialist McAfee Inc., chief financial officer Eric Brown has taken on the additional responsibilities of chief operating officer. Brown joined the Santa Clara, California-based company in 2005 as CFO after a stint as finance chief of Microstrategy Inc.
• James J. Groberg resigned as chief financial officer of New York-based staffing services company Volt Information Sciences Inc. for health reasons; he will stay on as senior vice president. Vice president of corporate accounting and principal accounting officer Jack Egan was named senior vice president and CFO, and treasurer Ludwig M. Guarino was given the additional title of senior vice president.
• Scottsdale, Arizona-based restaurant chain P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. tapped PetSmart executive Mark Mumford for chief financial officer; he’ll join the company in April. Mumford, currently vice president of finance and chief accounting officer at Phoenix-based PetSmart, will be succeeded by vice president and controller Ray Storck, who will also continue as controller.
• Santa Barbara, California-based fashion company Global Brand Marketing Inc. named Martin McDermut senior vice president and chief financial officer. McDermut previously held the same roles at Superconductor Technologies Inc.
• Schering-Plough Corp. appointed two new finance executives, both reporting to chief financial officer Robert J. Bertolini. David A. Piacquad was named senior vice president for business development, succeeding Tom Kelly, who is now vice president for strategic financial projects. Piacquad joined the Kenilworth, New Jersey-based healthcare company from Johnson & Johnson, where he was most recently vice president for ventures and business development. Earlier, he was CFO of the Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Division of J&J’s over-the-counter drug company, McNeil Consumer Products.
Schering-Plough also named Steven H. Koehler vice president and controller; he succeeds Douglas Gingerella, who became vice president focusing on the company’s value enhancement initiative. Koehler joins Schering-Plough from The Medicines Co., where he was most recently senior vice president, CFO, and treasurer.