Sierra Pacific Taps Ex-ARCO Exec.

Sierra Pacific Resources, a Las Vegas-based utility holding company, has appointed Dennis Schiffel, a former Atlantic Richfield Co., executive, as CFO, replacing Mark Ruelle, who was recently named president of the firm’s southern Nevada utility, Nevada Power. Schiffel was most recently vice pres...

By Ed Zwirn • July 23, 2001

EEOC Rules Against Carpal-Tunnel Test

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad secretly conducted genetic testing on a number of employees who submitted claims of work-related carpal-tunnel syndrome.The EEOC also said the company broke the Americans with Disabilities Act by trea...

By Stephen Taub • July 23, 2001

MasterCard CFO Named to Unysis Board

MasterCard International executive vice president and CFO Denise Fletcher has added another plume to her bonnet: Unisys Corp. has elected the financial executive the 11th member of its board of directors. Fletcher was tapped by MasterCard last September for the CFO post, before that spending five...

By Ed Zwirn • July 20, 2001

Paperwork for Customers in Tax-Free States

Q: I have been told by one of our clients that is located in Oregon that the state has no sales tax. As a result they do not utilize or have available tax exempt certificates. In order to protect ourselves during a tax audit what paperwork would we need to have on hand?Kevin J. KohutChicagoFrom y...

By CFO Editorial Staff • July 20, 2001

Wells Fargo CFO to myCFO After Bank Posts Loss

Wells Fargo CFO Ross Kari has left the San Francisco-based bank holding company to take up the same post at myCFO, a wealth advisory firm founded two years ago, effective next month. The move, which was announced by the firms this morning, comes on the heels of a Tuesday, July 17, earnings update...

By Ed Zwirn • July 19, 2001

2000 CFO Pay: Whopping Option Gains Bulked Up Compensation

For tables revealing the compensation of ten top-paid CFOs and broader CFO compensation trends, click here. For a table showing CFO compensation as a percentage of CEO compensation from 1996 through 2000 and a story on the subject, click here.You wouldn’t have thought 2000 was an off year for Mar...

By David Katz • July 19, 2001

2000 CFO Pay: CFOs Versus CEOs

Click here for a story on top-earning CFOs. Click here for tables showing a snapshot of the compensation of top-earning senior financial executives and an analysis of CFO compensation.Nothing like keeping up with your boss—especially in terms of your compensation. In fact, as whole, the CFOs in a...

By David Katz • July 19, 2001

2000 CFO Pay: Ten Top-Paid CFOs

Click here for a story on top-earning CFOs. Click here for a table showing CFO compensation as a percentage of CEO compensation for the last five years and a story on the subject. All Dollar Amounts in $Thousands.Ten Top-Paid CFOsExecutive / Company1 Base SalaryBonusTotal Annual Comp.Gain on Opti...

By CFO Editorial Staff • July 19, 2001

Conn. Bank Lures CFO Refugee From Wachovia Takeover Battle

People’s Bank, Connecticut’s largest bank, has hired Donald Heroman as executive vice president and CFO, effective Aug. 6. Heroman is currently senior vice president and treasurer of SunTrust Banks, the Atlanta firm which is battling with First Union Corp. in an attempt to take over Wachovia Corp...

By Ed Zwirn • July 18, 2001

Waste Treatment Firm Gives CFO Offer He Can’t Refuse

ATG, a provider of low-level radioactive waste treatment services, has appointed Phillip L. Jordan, an industry veteran, its new executive vice president and CFO, the Hayward, Calif.-based firm announced. In the early 1990s, Jordan served as CFO of Pacific Nuclear Systems, later renamed Vectra Te...

By Ed Zwirn • July 17, 2001

Web Host Names CFO as Earnings Plummet

Exodus Communications, the largest web hosting services provider, has named William M. Austin executive vice president, finance and CFO, effective immediately. He succeeds Dick Stoltz, who has been the company’s interim CFO since May, who will remain as a senior adviser.The Santa Clara, Californi...

By Ed Zwirn • July 16, 2001

Licentious Behavior

Q: We license virtual component (synthesizable electronic design) technology to companies in Japan and other foreign countries. The license agreements include a license fee, maintenance fee, and royalties when the products that are developed using this technology are put into production. The gove...

By CFO Editorial Staff • July 13, 2001

Troubled Energy Co. Names New Financial Officer

PG&E National Energy Group, a Bethesda, Md.-based subsidiary of bankrupt Pacific Gas and Electric, the California utility which filed Chapter 11 in April, has named Thomas E. Legro to the newly created position of vice president and chief accounting officer, overseeing the company’s accountin...

By Ed Zwirn • July 13, 2001

Safety Uncertainty Stalls Telecommuting: GAO

Employer uncertainty about how state and federal health and safety apply to employees who work at home may be stalling the rise of telecommuting, according to a General Accounting Office (GAO) report released on Thursday.The report cites telecommuting proponents who say some 16.5 million employee...

By Craig Schneider • July 13, 2001

Ergonomics Round 2: What to Expect in September

Ergonomics will start making headlines again next week.In its first official action since Congress killed pending regulations last March, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will go on the road with four public forums to be held at venues throughout the country.Labor Secretary Elain...

By Ed Zwirn • July 13, 2001

Ford CFO Wallace Hits the Road (Updated)

It hasn’t exactly been a smooth drive for Ford Motor Co. this past year.The company’s sales have slipped, and the Firestone tire recall and its messy aftermath has generated negative publicity and questions about the safety of its Explorer SUV. Analysts predict that next Wednesday’s earnings rele...

By Ed Zwirn • July 12, 2001

Auto Supplier Promotes 15-Year Veteran

ArvinMeritor, a Troy, Mich.-based auto parts supplier, has promoted Carl Soderstrom, a 15-year veteran with the firm, to CFO, effective July 21. Soderstrom, who is currently the firm’s senior vice president, replaces Tom Madden, who has left for a position “outside the automotive industry.”In ano...

By Ed Zwirn • July 11, 2001

BREAKING NEWS: McDonald’s Names New CFO

McDonald’s Corp. today named Matthew H. Paull as executive vice president and CFO, effective immediately, succeeding Michael Conley who announced his retirement in March.“We have conducted an extensive search for the Chief Financial Officer position, looking at numerous external and internal cand...

By Ed Zwirn • July 10, 2001

BREAKING NEWS: McDonald’s Names New CFO (Updated)

McDonald’s Corp. today named Matthew H. Paull as executive vice president and CFO, effective immediately, succeeding Michael Conley who announced his retirement in March.“We have conducted an extensive search for the Chief Financial Officer position, looking at numerous external and internal cand...

By Jennifer Caplan and Ed Zwirn • July 10, 2001

Court Rules Company Can Terminate Supplemental Benefits

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that a company can terminate a former executive’s supplemental pension benefits once the former employee engages in competitive business.In Bryan vs. The Pep Boys-Manny, Moe and Jack, U.S. District Judge Herbert J. Hutton held...

By Stephen Taub • July 10, 2001

Clear Channel CFO Gets Promoted

Ed Stacey, erstwhile CFO of Clear Channel Entertainment, is now EVP and chief financial and administrative officer. The change in title is apparently a promotion, as “Stacey’s position is being expanded to include the global management of finance and staff functions, including Accounting, Financi...

By Ed Zwirn • July 9, 2001

Comdisco CFO Out After 26 Years

Suffering from a plummeting stock price and investor antipathy, Comdisco has given its CFO the boot after 26 years with the firm. Effective immediately, Michael A. Fazio has been named executive vice president and CFO of the ailing tech firm. He replaces John J. Vosicky, who joined the firm in 19...

By Ed Zwirn • July 6, 2001

Lessor Problems

Q: As initially written, Financial Accounting Standard 13 excluded many intangibles, including software. However, with SOP 98-1, software has been reclassified as an asset, and one that must be (if material) capitalized upon acquisition.What are your thoughts about structuring large software fina...

By CFO Editorial Staff • July 6, 2001

Steel Guy Named At ‘Special’ Firm

Special Metals named Dennis L. Wanlass its new vice president and CFO. Wanlass was formerly vice president and CFO for Geneva Steel Co. He will report to Special Metal President T. Grant John and work out of the nickel-based alloy producer’s Huntington, WV office. A company press release said the...

By Ed Zwirn • July 5, 2001

Bolten Bolts from BroadVision

BroadVision Corp., a provider of E-business applications, announced that EVP and CFO Randall Bolten tendered his resignation and that a search for his successor is currently underway. Bolten, who joined BroadVision in 1995, will step down in late July. Corporate treasurer Terry Davis has been app...

By Lisa Yoon • July 3, 2001