Kimberly-Clark Corp. last week reorganized global management, merging its North American and European business units and forming a separate division for Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
K-C’s North American and European Personal Care groups merge into a single North Atlantic unit; the North American and European Consumer Tissue businesses also merge into one North Atlantic division.
At the same time, K-C launches a Developing and Emerging Markets unit to foster growth in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Steve Kalmanson, 51, will head up the North Atlantic Personal Care unit; he had been group president of North American Family Care since 1995. Rob van der Merwe, 51, leads the North Atlantic Consumer Tissue unit; he had been head of K-C Europe since 1998 and is credited with centralizing brand and customer management for the region and improving the division’s profitability.
Robert Abernathy, 49, heads up the Developing and Emerging Markets business unit; he had been head of K-C’s Business-to-Business division since 1998, credited with boosting health care profitability. He is succeeded by Dudley Lehman, 52, who had been group president of Child and Infant Care for North America, credited with successful launches of Huggies Pull-Ups, GoodNites and Little Swimmers.
Executive VP Kathi Seifert, who turns 55 in March, and Asia/Pacific Group President Paul Geisler, 62 retire mid-year.
The changes build on the global business plan that Dallas-based K-C began in July 2003. The company hopes to streamline decisions, speed up R&D and cut costs.
K-C sales rose nearly 11% to $3.7 billion for fourth-quarter 2003; K-C credits volume increases and favorable currency rates. Full-year sales rose 6% to $14.3 billion (up 2% when currency rates are excluded). The company hopes to boost sales another 3% to 5% in 2004.
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