Dive Brief:
- Stanley Black & Decker on Wednesday promoted Donald Allan, Jr., currently the industrial and household hardware manufacturer's president and CFO, to CEO, effective July 1. Allan will replace James M. Loree, who has been acting CEO since his appointment in 2016.
- Once CEO Allan will join the company’s Board of Directors and will also retain his title as president, according to a company press release. Corbin Walburger, a Goldman Sachs alum currently serving as VP for corporate business development for the firm, will serve as interim CFO beginning July 1.
- Promotions from CFO to CEO at Fortune and S&P 500 companies reached a ten-year high of 7.9% in 2021, according to a recent report by Crist|Kolder Associates.
Dive Insight:
Allan will receive an annual base salary of $1.25 million as well as other executive compensation including equity and a one-time promotion long-term incentive grant with an aggregate date value of $3.6 million, according to a company filing. Allan, a 23-year veteran of the firm, joined the company in 1999 and was promoted to CFO in 2008. He was elevated to the positions of president and CFO in February 2021. Prior to joining Stanley Black & Decker, he served as the assistant corporate controller for manufacturing firm Loctite Corp.
As Allan's interim successor, Walburger will receive a monthly cash stipend of $72,000 in addition to his base salary while within the role, according to a company filing. Walburger joined the firm in 2008, and previously served as an associate and VP for Goldman Sachs.
The company has tapped executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to find a permanent CFO. The company on Wednesday also detailed plans to rebalance between $200 to $250 million of annualized investment to expand its supply chain productivity, with the expectation of generating $1 billion in value over the next five years. The move will help to support its growth imperatives within the tools and outdoor sectors over the next three years, the company noted.
“With the recent strategic refocusing of the business around our leadership positions in the global tools and outdoor power equipment markets in place, the time was right for this transition as Stanley Black & Decker looks to drive its next phase of growth across this more focused strategy,” the company said of the move in a statement provided to CFO Dive. A spokesperson said Allan was not available for an interview.
The CFO to CEO pipeline is growing, with companies across industries increasingly looking first to their financial heads to fill the top position when needed. Nearly 17% of sitting CEOs at industrial companies came from CFO positions, according to a recent Crist|Kolder Associates report, with 25% of CEOs in the financial sector moving to the CEO chair from a CFO role.
Many companies are also looking internally to fill such positions, with agricultural equipment firm John Deere Tuesday announcing a new CFO as part of three high-level executive position changes.
Deere’s VP and CFO Ryan Campbell succeeded John Stone as the company’s President for Worldwide Construction & Forestry, while Stone is leaving the firm. Raj Kalathur will step in to serve as the company’s CFO effective Tuesday, transitioning from his previous role as chief information officer (CIO). Kalathur also previously served as John Deere’s CFO for a six year tenure beginning in March 2012 and terminating March 2019 following his transition to the CIO role per his LinkedIn profile. The CIO position will be filled by Ganesh Jayaram — previously VP of Information Technology — also effective as of yesterday.
Kalathur will receive an annual salary of $887,7558 for the role, a five percent increase, according to a company filing.
