• After 11 years with Cisco Systems, CFO and executive vice president Dennis Powell will retire, effective February 15. Powell, who served as CFO of the San Jose, Calif.-based company, will be succeeded by current senior vice president of customer solutions finance Frank Calderoni.
• Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, which owns Dollar Rent-A-Car and Thrifty Car Rental, has announced its CFO and senior vice president, Steven Hildebrand, will retire from the Tulsa, Okla.-based company at the end of March. Hildebrand leaves a 20-year career and will remain as a consultant for 90 days after his departure.
• Ed Barnes takes off in his new role as CFO of the airline company JetBlue Airways, effective immediately. Barnes has been interim CFO since November. He joined JetBlue in 2006 as vice president of cost management and financial analysis.
• Natural supplements manufacturer Natural Alternatives International has appointed Kenneth Wolf as CFO, effective immediately. Wolf is fresh off a five-year stint as CFO for Phoenix Footwear Group.
• Adding to a 30-year career in financial leadership, Robert Hellauer will be the new finance chief for bio-tech firm Well Gen Inc. Hellauer held senior positions at Lucent Technologies/AT&T, General Signal Corp., and Johnson & Johnson.
• Superior Offshore International’s board of directors approved the appointment of Thomas Daman as executive vice president and chief financial officer, starting April 1. Daman was promoted after joining the company five months ago as treasurer. Roger Burks will remain in his role as CFO and executive vice president until Daman takes over.
• Robert Vincent will move from his position as CFO of Unos Restaurants to oversee the finances at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, where he takes up the role of CFO and executive vice president, starting March 17. The West Roxbury, Mass.-based pizzeria plans to find Vincent’s replacement within 60 days.
• Jewelry and accessories store Claire’s Etc. has appointed J. Per Brodin to oversee its finances to replace Ira Kaplan, who has served Claire’s for 20 years. Brodin will be responsible for expanding the finance group toward a broader role of operating partner and global adviser. He formerly served as the CFO of Centene Corp.
• The CFO of trash bag maker Pactiv, Andrew Campbell, will retire mid-year. Current vice president and controller Edward Walters will take over for 62-year-old Campbell, who has been with the Lake Forrest, Ill. -based company for 32-years.
• Steven Neil, the CFO of the healthcare products company Cooper Cos., has resigned to oversee the finances at snack company Diamond Foods, where he has been a board member for three years. Cooper will replace Neil with Eugene Midlock, its vice president of finance.
• Antoine Giscard d’Estaing, CFO of French food group Danone, has resigned to pursue other professional opportunities, according to the company. Giscard d’Estaing helped oversee numerous major developments during his time at Danone, including the acquisition of Dutch food group Numico. His replacement is Pierre-André Terisse, CFO of Altadis, the Spanish-French tobacco company recently acquired by U.K.-based Imperial Tobacco.
• Elsewhere in the food sector, Italian food distribution group Marr appointed Pierpaolo Rossi as its new finance director. Rossi has worked for Marr for the last 15 years, most recently as head of the accounting, financials, and treasury departments. He replaces Davide Perazzini.
• Mikael Bratt, head of corporate finance at Volvo, the Swedish vehicle manufacturer, has been appointed group CFO. He replaces Pär Östeberg, who recently moved to head of the company’s Asian truck operations.
• Michel Demaré, CFO of Swiss engineering company ABB, has been named interim CEO after chief executive Fred Kindle resigned unexpectedly. The company said Kindle, who became CEO in 2005, was leaving “due to irreconcilable differences about how to lead the company.” ABB has started a search for a permanent successor.
• BUPA, the U.K. healthcare company, has promoted finance director Ray King to CEO and chair. King, who joined BUPA in 2001, replaces Val Gooding, who will retire after 10 years in the role.
• German engineering company MAN has appointed Jan Gurander as CFO of MAN Diesel, one of its subsidiaries. Gurander has been working as a financial adviser to various Swedish companies since January 2007. Prior to that, he was CFO of Scania, the Swedish truck maker. Gurander replaces Tage Reinert, whose contract with MAN expires at the end of August.
• Luc Dony, finance director of Parisian fashion house Chanel, has been promoted to administrative president.