Temporary Problems?
When the board of directors of temporary staffing provider Spherion Corp. ousted longtime CEO Ray Marcy in April, they didn't have far to go for a replacement. The board tapped one of its own: Outside director Cinda Hallman, 55, who most recently was a senior vice president at DuPont Global Systems and Processes.
Hallman's been handed a tough assignment: The staffing industry is facing difficult times. She's spent the first few months reviewing the company's operations and meeting with managers.
"She'd been on the board for many years. She knows the issues. She was the most logical change agent," says Andrew Steinerman, an analyst at Bear Stearns. "Can she deliver change? It's too early to tell."
Allen Rowland, Winn-Dixie
Bagging Expenses
After taking over as chief executive of long-suffering Winn-Dixie in late 1999, Allen Rowland, 56, hasn't been shy about shaking up the grocery chain. He moved quickly to cut costs, ax unprofitable business lines and rein in the grocery chain's unwieldy decentralized management structure. He's even changed advertising agencies for the first time in 35 years. The results so far: Profits and share prices are up.
"He found a bigger mess there than he expected," says Mark Husson, a retailing analyst at Merrill Lynch. "So what he's done is all the more impressive."
Nonetheless, Rowland's turnaround of Florida's third-biggest public company is still a work in progress. Reducing expenses is the easy part. Rowland now has to show he can improve service and boost sales. Standing in the way are tough competitors such as Publix and Wal-Mart, which has been elbowing its way into the grocery business.
Gerry Chastelet, Digital Lightwave
This is Not a Test
When Gerry Chastelet took over as CEO of Digital Lightwave in 1999, the Clearwater-based maker of fiber-optic testing equipment was just working past an accounting problem that forced the company to restate earnings. Its stock was trading for about two bucks a share.
Chastelet, 53, a natural salesman who can light up a room of investors or customers, has taken Digital Lightwave from 100 customers to 350 using relationships he'd built up over the years. Sales doubled last year to $100 million. The stock price rocketed to nearly $150 last year but now trades in the high $40s.
"He's done nothing but execute and succeed," says Dan Shin, a telecommunications industry analyst at Robert W. Baird Co. in Milwaukee. "It's pretty impressive."
The question is, can he keep it going?
Timothy Main, Jabil Circuit
The Main Solution
What timing. No sooner had Jabil Circuit executive Timothy Main, 43, replaced William Morean last year as CEO than the technology industry swooned.
After several years of running at full capacity, Jabil, which designs and makes circuit boards, now faces declining orders and bulging inventories. "This is the toughest time Jabil ever had," says Shawn Severson, a technology industry analyst at Raymond James & Associates.
Fortunately for Jabil, Main appears to be the right guy for the job. "In this industry, it's all about execution," Severson says. "Tim's a real strong guy."
The slowdown in tech sales does have a positive: It'll give Main a much-needed opportunity to rationalize his company, including paring away any unprofitable areas.
Gregory Swienton, Ryder System
Riding It Out
Last year, when he replaced longtime CEO Anthony Burns at Ryder System in Miami, Gregory Swienton, 51, didn't waste any time breaking with tradition.
In an effort to boost profits, he sold off the corporate jet, discontinued the company's sponsorship of the Doral-Ryder Open golf tournament and severely challenged the old way of selling services.
A detail-oriented former railroad executive, Swienton has been reviewing Ryder's contracts, trying to weed out business that pays out fat sales commissions but doesn't provide attractive margins for the company.
Is Swienton's plan paying off? Ryder's earnings from continuing operations jumped 22% last year, and through May shares are up 16% since Swienton took over in November.