Steve Kalmanson, President of North Atlantic Consumer Products to Retire;
Robert Abernathy, Bob Black and Tony Palmer Assume New or Expanded Roles
DALLAS, March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kimberly-Clark Corporation
(NYSE: KMB) today announced that Steve Kalmanson (55), Group President of
the company's North Atlantic Consumer Products business, is retiring
following a more than 30-year career with the company. He will be replaced
by Robert Abernathy, current Group President of K-C's Developing & Emerging
Markets (D&E) business.
In addition, the company announced that Bob Black, the company's Chief
Strategy Officer, will replace Abernathy as head of the D&E business and
that Tony Palmer, Chief Marketing Officer, will assume responsibility for
K-C's innovation organization, which previously reported to Black.
"We thank Steve for his three decades of dedicated service to
Kimberly-Clark," said Tom Falk, chairman and chief executive officer of
Kimberly-Clark. "Most recently, Steve's leadership of the North Atlantic
Consumer Products teams has helped us leverage our scale and drive improved
strategic alignment across North America and Europe. He was a key player in
the development and launch of numerous innovations such as Pull-Ups
training pants, GoodNites Underpants and Depend incontinence products. His
passion and infectious competitive desire to win will be missed.
"Robert, Bob and Tony are accomplished and respected leaders who have
been instrumental in successfully executing our Global Business Plan
strategies. They bring proven skills and a fresh perspective to their new
roles. With these management changes, we underscore our commitment to
continue delivering improved business results and we are taking advantage
of an opportunity to better align our marketing and innovation activities."
Abernathy (53) has extensive experience growing K-C's consumer
businesses around the world. Under his leadership, the company's D&E
businesses have generated growth in sales and operating profit averaging 15
percent and 14 percent, respectively, over the last four years. He also has
held management positions in K-C's North American diaper and tissue
businesses, led the company's K-C Australia unit and served as head of the
company's former Business-to-Business unit, which included K-C's
Professional and Health Care businesses.
Black (48) brings considerable expertise to his new role as Group
President of Developing & Emerging Markets. As former chief operating
officer of Sammons Enterprises and president of Steelcase International, he
has significant experience in leading large, complex global operations.
Palmer (48) has successfully established a global marketing
organization that is driving implementation of best practices, sharing
ideas and the development of marketing talent globally as an underpinning
to improved brand strength and enhanced top- and bottom-line growth. His
leadership of the company's innovation organization is a natural
progression for K-C, more closely integrating that group with the marketing
and brand-building teams that currently report to him.
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable
part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion
people -- nearly a quarter of the world's population -- trust K-C brands
and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and
well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex
and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in more
than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more
about the company's 136-year history of innovation, visit
http://www.kimberly-clark.com.
SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.kimberly-clark.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991117/KMBLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
media, Dave Dickson, +1-972-281-1481,
ddickson@kcc.com, or Investors, Mike Masseth, +1-972-271-1478,
mmasseth@kcc.com, both of Kimberly-Clark
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