Faster improvements
Lafley will immediately assume the roles of
chairmain, president and CEO of Procter & Gamble. Bob McDonald will retire
on 30 June, after 33 years with the company. This switch was made under
pressure of some investors, who want the company to improve faster.
P&G is going through a restructuring
programme of 10 billion dollar (about 7.73 billion euro). It has already cut
several thousand jobs and is trying to improve its success with new products.
“Like duty called”
A.G. Lafley felt like he had no choice but to
take the job: “Bob retired, the board called me and I felt like duty
called. I’m back to help maintain the business momentum and keep this
productivity program going”, Lafley told Reuters.
Lafley joined P&G back in 1977 and was president and CEO since 2000, until 2009 when he handed the sceptre to McDonald. McDonald, who was chosen
by Lafley to succeed him, was not available for comment.
The retirement of Bob McDonald may have come as
a surprise, but it was not surprising they chose Lafley to succeed him. “The
board has a known quantity in Lafley. He knows everyone, he knows the systems,
and now that Procter is on firmer footing, it expects Lafley to be able to push
the company and its stock price higher”, said Matt McCormick, a portfolio
manager at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel in Cincinnati.
