Wet Seal CFO Moves to Old Navy - What's Up?

Glenn Curtis of Investopedia wrote a piece on the recent move by John Luttrell, the CFO of Wet Seal to CFO for down and out Old Navy owned by the Gap GPS (NYSE) . I specifically highlight the piece because Curtis gives a simple but right on the money analysis of the possible reasons behind Luttrell's decision to change ships. Take a look.

Surprise, Surprise - Nestle Picks Bulcke Not Polman

Nestle NSRGY (NQB) the world's largest food company, named insider Paul Bulcke as its new chief executive, replacing Peter Brabeck, who will drop his executive functions in 2008 to serve as group chairman.

The surprise choice of Bulcke, head of its Americas operations, surprised most analysts who predicted Nestle would name Chief Financial Officer Paul Polman as Brabeck's replacement. Polman, the company's star CFO was considered by most as a shoo in for the CEO position. Keep an eye on the firm for the next couple of weeks, to see if Polman decides to stay on or jump ship.


For more on the change:

Forbes
Reuters
Swissinfo
Advertising Age (What everyone thought)

CEO Pay - A Surprising Argument in Favor

Former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration, Robert Reich, recently provided surprising commentary in a September 14 piece in the Wall Street Journal. Reich who was usually perceived as far to the left of his boss, Bill Clinton, recently wrote a piece entitled CEOs Deserve Their Pay. Worth a look, I prefer to defer comment on the issue.

For more see:

Economist's View Blog
Business Week Management IQ Blog
ReputationXchange Blog

Medical Device Manufacturer Finally Gets Its Man

Steris Corporation STE (NYSE) a medical products manufacturer appointed a new CEO, Walter Rosebrough, Jr., after an extensive search was put in place nearly a year ago when it was announced that CEO Les Vinney would step down in June 2007. Rosebrough, who has had extensive experience in the medical products industry appears to be a good choice for the firm. According to a story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Rosebrough, 53, has spent more than 20 years in the health-care industry in a series of senior management positions. He served as president and chief executive officer of the Hill-Rom Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hillenbrand Industries Inc. Hillenbrand provides medical technologies and related services for the healthcare industry, including patient support systems, non-invasive therapeutic products for a variety of acute and chronic medical conditions, medical equipment rentals and workflow information technology solutions.

Rosebrough was executive vice president of Hillenbrand Inc. when, in 2000, he left the company to lead Vasocor Inc., a Credit Suisse First Boston- funded start-up health-care company, as president and chief executive officer. The company focused on development of a non-invasive medical device to enable early detection of atherosclerosis.

Since early 2005, Rosebrough has served as the president and chief executive officer of Coastal Hydraulics Inc., a private company. Coastal Hydraulics provides hydraulic and pneumatic systems, equipment and services used in industrial, marine and mobile equipment applications.

Rosebrough's extensive background and experience should serve Steris well. Watch Rosebrough's early moves at the firm and decide for yourself.

Petsmart Appoints New CFO

Petsmart PETM (NASDAQ) appointed Lawrence Molloy senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective late September. Molloy will be the principal financial officer and will lead all areas of finance including analysis, planning, compliance and reporting, as well as business and financial strategy. He will report to Phil Francis, chairman and chief executive officer. He succeeds Tim Kullman, who resigned earlier this year. Molloy joins PetSmart after four years at Circuit City Stores Inc., including the last year as vice president and chief financial officer of retail.

Molloy's appointment comes as Petsmart appears to have acknowledged potential financial problems associated with the earlier tainted dog and cat food scandal that hurt pets all over. Earlier today, Michelle Leder in her Footnoted.org blog wrote a piece on Petsmart where she referred specifically to a recent SEC filing the company made last Friday regarding potential financial difficulties the company might face with lawsuits associated with the pet food scandal. Is Molloy's appointment a coincidence to Petsmart's Friday SEC filing?

For more on the change see:

Forbes

Trading Markets.com

Turnover Continues at AMD

A number of blogs have confirmed a new turnover in AMD's sales department. Rick Hegberg resigned as AMD's Senior VP A few weeks back we discussed other major turnovers at AMD.

For more on the latest change see:

Overclock.net
Fudzilla
Beyond 3D Forum

Minnesota Retailer Brings in New Talent to Right the Ship

Christopher and Banks Corporation CBK (NYSE), a moderately priced private label women's apparel retailer, following a year of a declining stock price and weak earnings announced the resignation of CEO Matthew Dillon. At the same time, the company announced his replacement, Lorna Nagler. Nagler, until late June of this year, was president of women's plus-size apparel retailer Lane Bryant. Nagler was also previously president of Catherine Stores, a division of Charming Shoppes and prior to that was senior vice president and general manager for apparel and jewelry at K Mart. In addition to the recent CEO change there have also been other negative indicators regarding the company. The CFO of Christopher & Banks, according to an SEC filing, recently sold $668,400 in stock or 40,000 shares at an average price of $16.71. Moller's transaction was the first insider transaction at the firm since he sold $434,000 worth of shares back in January, at an average price $20.60. The above facts indicate that Nagler is faced with a terrific challenge. The CFO does not appear to place great confidence in the company's performance.

At the time of the latest announcement the company's chairman, Larry Barenbaum, said,

"We are excited to welcome Lorna Nagler as CEO of Christopher and Banks. Her experience in the women's specialty retailing industry and talent as a leader capable of building effective teams make her an outstanding choice to lead our Company as CEO. The Board of Directors shares my confidence in Lorna's ability to lead Christopher & Banks in today's retailing environment."

Nagler will have a chance to work with a former associate at Lane Bryant. Back in June, Christopher and Banks hired Susan Connell as executive vice president and chief merchandise officer. Connell was hired to oversee sourcing, product development and other merchandising concepts for the company. Prior to being hired at Christopher and Banks, Connell was the senior vice president and general merchandising manager at Lane Bryant the same company Nagel came from. Hopefully, the two executives will be able to develop the right formula to turn the company around.

Keep a close eye on Nagel to see what she plans to do with the company. She has a difficult challenge ahead of her.

Rumor: Yahoo To Get New Sales Chief

According to a Rumormonger piece in today's ValleyWag, Gregory Coleman, long time head of sales at Yahoo, is soon to be out. Valley Wag goes on to say, he will be replaced by Hilary Schneider, who currently runs Yahoo's e-commerce businesses. Schneider is an ally of Yahoo president Sue Decker.

For more see:

Paid Content.org
NY Times (registration req.)
WebPro News
Newsvine
TheStreet

Stein Mart Shifts Gears

Stein Mart Inc. SMRT (OTB), the discount retail department store, announced that the company's CEO and president, Michael B. Fisher has resigned effective immediately. The company did not provide any explanation for Fisher's resignation. Fisher served as CEO and President since 2003 and was with the firm for 14 years. In Fisher's place, the board announced the appointment of Linda McFarland Farthing, a board member since 1999 and a member of the board's audit committee since 2003. Farthing will take her position on or about September 24th. Farthing's appointment does not appear to be a slam dunk choice. While well-qualified, she has not recently managed a large retail business and while quite familiar with Stein Mart, one has to wonder what new approach she might bring to the table to get the operation humming.

According to the board,

She has an extensive retail leadership background, most notably as president, chief operating officer and director of the Cato Corporation from 1990 - 1997 and president, chief operating officer and director of Friedman's Inc. in 1998. Prior to those roles, she was senior vie president and general merchandising manager for the J.B. Ivey Company, a Charlotte, NC-based regional department store chain, for 11 years.

The Board also announced the election of two new members to the board of directors. The change in top management comes after two quarters of uninspiring performance. Most recently the company reported a disappointing second quarter with earnings and sales both down and has lowered its third quarter outlook.

We will just have to wait and see what changes, if any, Farthing puts in place, once she takes charge.

AMD Key Turnover's Raise Risks

AMD AMD (NYSE) has experienced a number of key turnovers lately that place increased pressure on the firm. On Wednesday the company announced that Henri Richard, head of the company's sales and marketing, will step down from his post in September. Richard came to AMD in 2002 after working at WebGain, a Java software company. Prior to Webgain he worked at Bell Microproducts and IBM. His decision to leave and "... move to a different business segment," comes at a very difficult time for AMD. They are about to launch their long delayed Barcelona chip. AMD hopes the new chip will put them back in the game again after a very difficult year. On top of Richard's decision to leave, last month the company lost Dave Orton, the head of the company's graphics business. Orton left after AMD acquired ATI Technologies.

Both men were an integral part of the company's management team. Richard was particularly important to the company. He was often the public face of the firm's sales operation and was considered an integral part of the company's success over the last few years. Keep an eye on how AMD replaces Richard and what they intend to do to stay in the game.


For more on the changes see:


CNET

IT News
Addict 3D