Newell Rubbermaid Inc. appointed Mark D. Ketchum, a member of the board of directors and the audit committee, interim CEO while the board conducts an external search for a permanent replacement.
Ketchum has been a Newell Rubbermaid director since early this year. He retired last year as president, global baby and family care, at The Procter & Gamble Co., a position he held since 1999. He was instrumental in driving the turnaround of this $11 billion business unit, delivering improved sales and profit returns, including 8 percent annualized sales growth and 16 percent annualized profit growth over his final two years.
Ketchum joined Procter & Gamble in 1971 and during his 33 years of service gained experience in operational, brand management and general management roles.
“We are fortunate to have a person of Mark Ketchum’s caliber on our board who can immediately step into this role while we search for a permanent replacement,” says William D. Marohn, chairman of Newell Rubbermaid. “Mark has been an important contributor to our board and he will bring a high level of consumer product industry experience, energy and operational expertise to this leadership position.”
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. is a global marketer of consumer and commercial products with $6.5 billion in sales in 2004.
Ketchum says, “Newell Rubbermaid has tremendous potential and I will do all I can to maximize that potential. The board and I are committed to continuing the strategic direction that we have established to improve performance, and I look forward to working with our management team over the next few months to ensure a smooth transition. Newell Rubbermaid has extremely talented senior management and dedicated employees, and I am very optimistic about this next phase in the evolution of our company.”
IMAGES USA
IMAGES USA hired Ricki Fairley-Brown as vice president of strategy and planning.
IMAGES USA is a full-service, multicultural marketing communications firm headquartered in Atlanta. In her new position, Brown is charged with strategic and account planning activities, collaborating with the agency’s leadership team on business-building strategies and maintaining the agency’s position as a leading multicultural marketing firm.
Brown earned a bachelor of arts degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Before joining IMAGES USA, Brown excelled in management and leadership positions with The Coca-Cola Co., Chupa Chups USA Corp. and PowerPact.
In 1998, she received The Creative Thinking Award from The Creative Thinking Association of America based on her creation of a futuristic marketing think tank at The Coca-Cola Co.
Cambia Security Inc.
Cambia Security Inc. appointed Steve Ethridge vice president of engineering.
Ethridge brings more than 20 years experience in software engineering and technical management to his new position. At Cambia, he will lead the organization that develops, tests and supports the market releases of the Cambia CM system. Cambia Security Inc. develops software that continuously monitors, detects and prioritizes security-related changes in the IT infrastructure.
Ethridge previously worked as director of product development at Lancope, where he led the development of the StealthWatch network behavioral anomaly detection security appliance. Prior to Lancope, he served as vice president of product development for Thoughtmill Corp. and led the organization responsible for the definition, design, development and testing of large commercial projects for high-tech companies including Internet Security Systems, DoubleClick, Attachmate and XcelleNet. Ethridge previously held management positions with DCA Corp. and NCR Corp.
Etheridge earned his bachelor of science degree in computer science from the University of Georgia.
ACE USA
ACE USA named Jim Shevlin assistant vice president and regional business development manager for its Southeast region.
Shevlin most recently managed sales and marketing for ACE Select Markets, the specialty personal lines division of ACE USA. In his new position, he will manage distribution, product sales and marketing, and producer relationships for ACE USA∏s Southeast region.
ACE USA is the U.S.-based retail operating division of The ACE Group of Companies.
Shevlin joined ACE in 2002 as a member of the management team responsible for overseeing sales and account management for a division that marketed personal insurance products to Fortune 1000 clients. Prior to joining ACE, Shevlin held senior business development and marketing positions with MetLife, AIG, Allmerica Financial and Continental Insurance/CNA Financial.
Shevlin has served on boards related to the insurance industry, including the International Mass Marketing Association and Mass Marketing Insurance Institute.
Shevlin earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Massachusetts at North Dartmouth and pursued MBA work at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass.
