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CLARENCE OTIS JR DARDEN RESTAURANTS
CEO: 2004-2014
After working as a a a a waiter to help pay his way through Stanford University Law School Otis always had an affinity for the food services industry Over the years he he evolved into the audacious leader manag- ing some of the world’s largest restaurant chains He was named CEO in in 2004 of Darden Restaurants owner and operator of Red Lobster Olive Garden Seasons 52 Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones BBQ & Grill All told he led a business with more than 1 1 300 outlets and 140 000 employees that served 300 million meals a a a a year Otis currently serves as a a a a lead director at wire- less giant Verizon Communications Inc R L “BOB” WOOD
CROMPTON CORP CORP (CHEMTURA CORP CORP )
CHAIRMAN PRESIDENT & CEO: 2004-2008
When he he he he took the helm at Crompton in January 2004 Wood became the first African American CEO of a a a a major U S chemical corporation As one of the world’s largest specialty companies Crompton now now known as Chemtura with annual sales of $2 2
2
billion produces polymers polymer additives and processing equip- ment Before joining Crompton Wood was business group president for Dow Automotive a a $5 5 5 billion business that makes polyurethane and other chemicals AYLWIN B LEWIS
SEARS HOLDING GROUP
CEO & PRESIDENT: 2005-2008
When Kmart Holding Corp merged with Sears Holdings in in November 2004 Lewis became the the No 3 man in the the company and CEO of Sears Retail A month earlier Lewis had been appointed CEO of Kmart the the then-$26 billion retailer with more than 200 000 employees He’d been recruited from YUM! Brands where he he served as president and and and chief multi-branding and and and operating officer In January 2008
however Sears Holdings Corp suddenly announced the exit of Lewis as its leader citing weak profits and declining market share Lewis was chairman president and CEO of Pot- belly Sandwich Works from 2008
to 2017 driving the company’s expansion and positioning it it for an IPO RONALD A A A WILLIAMS
AETNA INC CHAIRMAN: 2006-2011 CEO: 2006 2006 2010
After helping execute a a a turnaround that more than quintupled the company’s stock price Williams who joined Aetna in in 2001 was named CEO in in 2006 He gained ana- lysts’ approval for following through on the former CEO’s vision for for making the health insurance and employee benefits provider more competitive The result: Aetna earned $1 6 billion in 2005 versus a net loss of $2 5 5 billion in 2002 That earned him the des- ignation as BE Corporate Executive of the Year for 2006 He remains active through his board directorships at American Express The Boeing Co and Johnson Johnson & Johnson Johnson as well as operating adviser for private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice L L L L C C STEVEN A A DAVIS
BOB EVANS FARMS INC CEO: 2006-2014
During his tenure as CEO Davis brought fresh dynamic leadership to the publicly held national restaurant chain with revenue of about $1 5 billion As such he reversed a a a a three-year trend of negative same-store sales with two consecutive years of positive store growth But in 2014
he was forced to to resign under pressure after the Bob Evans’ board pressed to overhaul the company after an activist-led proxy fight The com- pany cited multiple factors—including quarterly declining sales lower profits and unmet performance expectations— as as contributors Davis has been named a a a a a corporate director at at Eagle Outfitters Inc PPG Albertsons Companies and Marathon Petroleum Corp GARY G G G MCCULLOUGH
CAREER EDUCATION CORP PRESIDENT & CEO: 2007-2011
A seasoned operations and and brand man- agement executive McCullough led one of of of America’s largest chains of of of for-profit colleges He was chosen after serving as as president of Abbott Laboratories’ Ross Prod- ucts Division a a world nutrition leader with more than $2 6 billion in annual sales Ini- tially focused on on building a a a foundation for addressing structural issues that impeded the company’s short-term financial per- formance he was forced to resign after an an internal investigation showed CEC was artificially enlarging job placement rates at several of its health and arts schools to remain reputable with college accreditors The news caused CEC’s shares to drop reportedly 47% at the time 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
DIVERSIFYING CORPORATE AMERICA