Newell Brands announced the appointment of Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Christopher Peterson as interim chief executive officer effective June 28. Peterson succeeds President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Polk, who is retiring effective at the end of June as previously announced.
“Chris has earned the respect of our Board, executive team and employees since joining the company last year, and has the Board’s full confidence as he takes on the role of interim CEO,” said Chairman of the Board Patrick Campbell. “The search for a permanent CEO is proceeding well and the Board expects to be in a position to announce an external hire as the permanent CEO in the upcoming weeks. We are confident that Newell Brands is taking the right steps to execute its transformation, drive growth and increase shareholder value as a leading consumer products company.”
“I am honored to serve as the interim CEO of Newell Brands and am excited about the opportunity we have to improve the company’s organizational capability, return to core sales growth and drive shareholder value creation,” said Peterson.
Peterson will also continue his current role as the company’s executive vice president, chief financial officer, a role he has had since joining Newell Brands in December of 2018.
On March 15, Newell Brand announced that Polk will be retiring at the end of the second quarter and the company’s Board of Directors is conducting a search for a new CEO. Subsequent to Polk’s retirement on June 28, the size of the Board will be reduced to eleven members.
About Christopher Peterson
Chris Peterson has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Newell Brands since joining the company in December of 2018. Prior to his current role, Peterson was chief operating officer, operations at Revlon, Inc., leading the global supply chain, finance and IT functions. Previously he spent four years at Ralph Lauren, recruited as senior vice president, chief financial officer and ultimately leaving the company as president, Global Brands, with P&L responsibility for all of the company’s brands. Prior to Ralph Lauren, he spent 20 years at Procter & Gamble in various roles of increasing responsibility, the latest of which was vice president and chief financial officer, Global Household Care. He began his professional career in investment banking at Smith Barney Harris Upham & Co, Inc. and has a B.S. from Cornell University in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering.
Newell Brands is a leading global consumer goods company with a portfolio of well-known brands, including Paper Mate, Sharpie, Dymo, EXPO, Parker, Elmer’s, Coleman, Marmot, Oster, Sunbeam, FoodSaver, Mr. Coffee, Graco, Baby Jogger, NUK, Calphalon, Rubbermaid, Contigo, First Alert, and Yankee Candle.
