James R. Stengel, the global marketing officer for Procter & Gamble, will retire on Oct. 31, the company said yesterday.
Stengel, 53, who had filled the top marketing post since Aug. 2001, will work on special projects and help with the transition starting Aug. 1 and continue to report to Robert A. McDonald, chief operating officer.
P&G has tapped Marc S. Pritchard, the firm’s president of strategy, productivity and growth, to replace Stengel as global marketing officer starting Aug. 1.
Stengel started his 25-year career with P&G as brand assistant for Duncan Hines RTS Cookies. He later moved on to help manage the Jif brand and moved up the ranks, taking on the role of marketing director of U.S. cosmetic products in 1993 before managing and overseeing the baby care divisions in Europe in 1997.
“Jim Stengel has reinvigorated P&G’s marketing function and strengthened P&G’s capability as one of the world’s leading brand builders,” A.G. Lafley, P&G’s chairman of the board and CEO, said in a statement. “Jim has helped change the way P&G markets our brands by challenging traditional marketing models and setting new standards for P&G marketing rooted in deep consumer understanding.”
In naming Stengel’s replacement, Lafley said Pritchard “is the right leader at the right time to take P&G marketing into the future.”
Pritchard, 48, joined P&G in May 1982 as a cost analyst for the paper division. He held various financial roles within the company until taking his first marketing job as assistant brand manager for the Sure Anti-Perspirant/Deodorant brand in 1988. He was also involved in advertising management of the oral care and hair care brands before moving on to management posts for skin care products in 1994.
He took on various executive titles starting in1996 as vice president and general manager, cosmetic and fragrance products-U.S. In 2003, he became president of global cosmetics and personal care for P&G.