When Donald R. Knauss takes his new post as chairman and CEO of The Clorox Co. in October, he will spend some time getting acquainted before diving in.
“Mr. Knauss brings a strong consumer brand and marketing background to Clorox from his previous positions at Procter & Gamble, Coke and Pepsico,” said Clorox spokesperson Dan Staublin. “I believe that he’ll want to focus over the near term on getting to know Clorox and the people at the company better and continue to drive the company’s fiscal 2007 plan and deliver on those commitments.”
Heidi Froseth, VP of Ryan Partnership, Minneapolis, and a former senior customer marketing manger at Clorox, believes another focus will be on Clorox’s health and wellness platform. The new platform looks at how the company can help consumers meet their needs and desires for having a healthier home via the company’s antiviral and disinfecting products such as Clorox Bleach and the new Clorox Anywhere sanitizing spray. The fully integrated program includes consumer insights, new product innovation and all marketing communications.
“That division is alive and well and growing,” Froseth said. “I would see that [Knauss] would continue to support that. The decline of Coke had a lot to do with the overall industry marketing focus of health and wellness and people choosing to consume something better for you.”
To help push the new platform, Tarang Amin, VP-laundry and home care marketing, had his job expanded to include leading the international expansion of the health and wellness platform. As of Aug. 25 he was promoted to VP-marketing for laundry and home care and the health and wellness expansion leader.
“He will lead the development of a global strategy for the health and wellness platform,” Clorox spokesperson Kathryn Caulfield said.
Knauss told Forbes.com this week that the majority of Clorox’s revenues and income come from within the U.S. and that he plans to make growing international sales a priority.
“It’s a smart company that will continue to do smart things,” Froseth said.
Last year, Clorox ran an online contest to find the grossest work cubicles in America. The Cubicle Takeover Makeover contest invited workers to submit a photo of their cubicles online to vie for a makeover package worth $1,000 with equipment (and cleaning supplies) from Clorox, Sharper Image, Pottery Barn, Office Depot and iTunes. The contest touted Clorox Disinfecting Wipes.
On Wednesday, Clorox announced that Knauss, a 12-year veteran of the Coca-Cola Co. and its president of Coca-Cola North America, would be leaving to join Clorox, a job Knauss called “the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Knauss’s move comes as the carbonated soft drink (CSD) business struggles as consumers increasingly turn to water and sports drinks as their beverages of choice. Last year, the U.S. CSD industry posted an all-channel volume decline of 0.2%, the first decline since tracking began in 1985, according to Beverage Digest. (Energy drinks are included in the CSD category). Coke, the market leader, showed CSD volume down slightly in 2005. Coke Classic was down and Diet Coke was about flat, Beverage Digest reported. Coke shares have lost about half their value since 1998.
Despite the struggles at Coke, Clorox said that Knauss was “perfectly suited in our drive to grow our business.”
“Throughout his career, [Knauss], has established himself as a change agent,” said Clorox interim chairman Robert W. Matschullat, who Knauss replaces, in a statement. “Businesses have grown and flourished under his leadership, and he achieves results in a way that engages and brings the entire organization along with him.”
Matschullat has worked as Clorox’s interim chairman since March after Gerald E. Johnston, 58, suffered a heart attack and stepped down. He will remain on the board.
Coca-Cola named J. Alexander “Sandy” M. Douglas Jr., 45, to replace Knauss. He had been the company’s senior VP and chief customer officer. Douglas joined the company in 1988 as a district sales manager in Coca-Cola USA Fountain. His responsibilities quickly increased and in 1994 he was named VP-Coca-Cola USA, taking on the leadership of the CCE sales and marketing group. In 2000, he was appointed head of the North American field sales and marketing groups.
“Sandy has tremendous experience and skills and probably knows the North American system better than any executive at Coke,” John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, said yesterday.
Knauss, 55, has been with the company for 12 years and in the role of president of the $7 billion Coca-Cola North America division, Coke’s most important unit, for two years. He began his career with Coca-Cola in 1994 as senior VP-marketing for The Minute Maid Co.
Consumer products manufacturer Clorox, based in Oakland, CA, reported $4.6 billion in fiscal 2006 revenues. In addition to its Clorox bleach products, the company markets Brita water filtration systems, ArmorAll and STP auto products, Hidden Valley salad dressings, Kingsford charcoal and Scoop Away cat litter, among others.
Network
