• General Mills Chief Financial Officer Jim Lawrence has been elected vice chairman of the company, and will continue as CFO. Lawrence joined General Mills in 1998 as executive vice president and CFO, and also held responsibility since 2000 for international operations.
• The National Basketball Association’s Orlando Magic has promoted Jim Fritz to chief financial officer. Fritz previously served as the Magic’s controller, director and vice president of finance, and executive vice president of business. Prior to his 12-year stint with the Magic, Fritz held management positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Hotel Management Association.
• General Dynamics Corp. has named L. Hugh Redd senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective June 1. Redd will succeed Michael Mancuso who is retiring. Redd is a 20-year veteran of the company, and is currently vice president and controller of General Dynamics Land Systems. Before joining the defense contractor, Redd worked in the tax department of Arthur Andersen.
• Mark Julien has been promoted to chief financial officer of Kronos Inc. He replaces Paul Lacy, who was appointed president of Kronos in October 2005. Most recently, Julien was vice president of finance at the software maker. He also served as corporate controller. Prior to joining Kronos, Julien worked in the public accounting sector for Ernst and Young.
• Autobytel Inc., an Internet automotive marketing services company, retains Heidrick and Struggles to conduct a search for a new chief financial officer. Current CFO Mike Schmidt will remain on the job until the search is complete. Schmidt intends to leave the company to pursue other opportunities, particularly those closer to his home base in Northern California.
• Michael Shea has been named chief financial officer of Hooper Holmes Inc., effective May 8. He replaces Joe Marone who was serving as acting finance chief. Shea has held several senior management positions in corporate finance, including CFO of Computer Horizons Corp., manager of consolidations and corporate services for Booz-Allen and Hamilton, and audit manager for Ernst and Young. Hooper Holmes provides risk assessment services to the life insurance industry.
• Repair and maintenance company Global Aircraft Solutions has appointed Govindarajan “Raj” Sankar chief financial officer, effective June 1. Sankar will be assuming the CFO position previously held by Ian Herman, who will continue as the company’s chairman and CEO. Prior to his new appointment, Sankar held various management positions in the airlines industry, including accounting manager and controller at a USAir Group subsidiary, and director/vice president of finance at DHL Airways. Sankar is also a former Deloitte and Touche auditor.
• Docucorp International tapped J. Robert Gary to be the software maker’s senior vice president and chief financial officer. Prior to his new role, Gary held several senior financial positions for public and private companies, including CFO of Safety-Kleen, chief administrative officer of Bombay Co., and finance chief of CompUSA Stores, as well as providing executive financial services to clients on a consulting basis.
• Calpine Canada Power announced the resignation of Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Geoff Krause, effective May 12. Krause is leaving Calpine Canada to pursue another opportunity with a private oil and gas company. Lisa Winslow, the company controller will take on the role as interim CFO.
• Crawford and Co. has appointed controller Bruce Swain interim chief financial officer to replace departing finance chief John Giblin, who resigned this month. Giblin, who has worked for the claims management services provider for 17 years, did not provide a reason for his resignation in the company’s press statement.
• Spheris, a provider of medical transcription technology, has hired Brian Callahan as its chief financial officer. Callahan replaces Chris Mack, who has served as the company’s interim chief financial officer since December 2005. Before joining Spheris, Callahan was executive vice president and CFO of Murray Inc. He has also held the CFO title and other financial management positions at Miller Industries/RoadOne, Procter and Gamble, and Georgia Pacific.
• Per-Se Technologies, a healthcare services company, has named Stephen Scheppmann chief financial officer. He succeeds Chris Perkins, who was appointed chief operating officer of Per-Se in January. Since 2000, Scheppmann has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of NOVA Information Systems. Prior to that, Scheppmann served as CFO for Larson-Juhl, and previously worked in the public accounting sector for Andersen and Co.