Clorox names new CEO
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Clorox names new CEO
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BRIAN WATT: Clorox and Coke don’t mix. Not at the bar, at least. But in the upper levels of the corporate world, they look real nice on a resume. Marketplace’s Dan Grech explains.
DAN GRECH: Late last night Clorox Company named its next CEO: Donald Knauss, Coca-Cola’s president for North America.
This is the first time in Clorox’s 93-year history that it will be run by an outsider. John Challenger runs the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
JOHN CHALLENGER:“It used to be companies would hire people from within, grow them over years and years, but that model has changed.”
Clorox Company makes Brita water filters, Glad trash bags and, of course, bleach.
They hired Knauss because of his close ties to retailers, the folks who decide what products to feature on their shelves.
The move left some scratching their heads. Knauss was a strong contender for the top job at Coke, but Challenger says Knauss still might be able to go back to Coca-Cola.
CHALLENGER:“All the rules have changed. It used to be that you can’t come home again, but that’s just no longer the case.”
I’m Dan Grech for Marketplace.
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