• Goodyear Rubber and Tire has named W. Mark Schmitz as its CFO and executive vice president, replacing Richard Kramer, who was named president of Goodyear’s North American Tire unit in March. Schmitz has held an array of financial positions at large public companies, including Tyco International and General Motors. He was most recently the CFO and vice president of Tyco’s Fire and Security Segment, a post he held since 2003. Schmitz served in a variety of positions at GM since the late 1970s, including executive assistant to the president and CEO in Detroit, director of finance for Mercosul operations, and CFO of GM’s DirectTV Latin America. He was also CFO of Plug Power Inc.
• The finance chief of computer networking giant Cisco Systems, Dennis Powell, will retire in February. Powell will be succeeded by Frank Calderoni, Cisco senior vice president of consumer finance, who joined the company from his CFO post at QLogic in 2004. Powell came to Cisco in 1997 and served as CFO since 2003.
• Following the resignation of The Bear Stearns Co.’s president and co-chief operating officer Warren Spector, CFO Samuel Molinaro will take on some of his responsibilities. Molinaro will become chief operating officer but continue to oversee the finances at the investment bank.
• Peter Donato was appointed CFO and corporate vice president of California-based Iris International starting August 10. Donato replaces Veronica Tarrant, who was serving as interim CFO of the medical device marketer and manufacturer. Donato has held various finance chief positions at Gamma Medica-Ideas and Accellent Cardiology.
• Radio One CFO Scott Royster will step down from his position after more than 10 years. Royster has served as CFO of the urban radio company since 1996. He will stay with the company through the end of the year.
• The Tennessee Valley Authority has named Kimberly Scheibe Greene CFO and executive vice president of financial services, starting in September. She is currently the director of financial planning and analysis, enterprise risk management, capital markets and leasing, treasury and investor relations for Southern Company Services.
• Michael Baker Corp. CFO William Mooney has announced his resignation from the engineering, operations, and maintenance provider after holding the position since 2000. He will become the executive vice president and CFO for Transfield Services North America. Other positions Mooney has held include executive vice president and CFO of FEI Co., CFO of Calgon Carbon Corp., and Sylvan Inc., and president and CEO of Leahy Business Archives.
• After overseeing the books at the second-largest market-maker for Nasdaq-listed stocks, CFO John Howard will leave Knight Capital to become CFO at hedge fund AQR Capital Management, which is on the brink of a $500 million initial public offering. Howard will be replaced by Steven Bisgay, who previously was managing director of business development at Knight Capital and was once an accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
• Software provider Openwave Systems Inc. has announced the appointment of Jean-Yves Dexmier as CFO. Former CFO Harold Covert has left the company for personal reasons. Dexmier is a 28-year veteran of financial and business management in the software industry. He currently serves on the board of online advertising and technology company LookSmart and was formerly CFO at Informix Software, Octel Communications, and Thomson Consumer Electronics.
• Timothy Dec was appointed as CFO of information security firm Fortress International Group. Dec has overseen a number of public companies, most recently Presidio Networked Solutions. He was also senior vice president, chief accounting officer, and treasurer of Broadwing Corp. and director of accounting and administration for Thermo Trilogy Corp.
• Casino operator River Rock Entertainment Authority has appointed Joseph Callahan to oversee the company’s finances. Callahan is no newcomer to finances in the gaming industry, with 10 years of experience at numerous casino companies. His posts include director of finance for the East Valley Tourist Development Authority, which operates the Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino, as well as finance director for the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino. He also held financial positions at two Las Vegas casinos.
• After only three months on the job, the CFO of Europe’s second-largest semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies was fired. The company said its CFO and labor director Rudiger Gunther was released for “irreconcilable differences.” He became both CFO and labor director in May 2007, a month after he was appointed to the company’s board.
• Billionaire Ross Perot’s computer-services company, Perot Systems Corp., has promoted CFO Russell Freeman to chief operating officer. Freeman has been with the company since 1989 and CFO since 2000. He was formerly company controller. Current director of corporate development, John Harper, will replace him as CFO.