Changes of the Week

P: Peter Wolf Hires, 32, was named president of Philadelphia's Charles E. Hires Co. (root beer), succeeding E. W. David, who is retiring. Peter, whose father remains board chairman, is the grandson of Pharmacist Charles E. Hires Sr.; who brewed an "herb tea" of roots, bark and herbs, served it hot, and founded the company in 1876. (Later, it was served cold, renamed "root beer" to wean upstate Pennsylvania coal miners away from beer, and became, for a time, the biggest-selling U.S. soft drink.) Young Peter Hires left Haverford College before graduation to drive a company truck, became a salesman, and rose to be general merchandising manager. He expects to boost 1954 sales of nearly $10 million by 20% by being "a lot more aggressive." P: Edward H. Weitzen. 35, was elected president of Cincinnati's Gruen Watch Co., succeeding Morris Edwards, who resigned. A graduate of City College of New York ('38), Weitzen worked for a Manhattan ad agency, the Journal of Commerce. He became a buck private in 1942, was soon commissioned, rose to lieutenant colonel at 26. He joined Bulova Watch Co. in 1945 as a junior executive, became assistant to the president in six months, rose to sales and merchandising vice president in 1950. Last year he joined Manhattan's American Machine & Foundry as vice president for marketing, from which he resigned before coming to Gruen. P: Atherton Bean, 44, was named president of Minneapolis' International Milling Co. (world's second largest flour miller, after General Mills), succeeding Charles Ritz, 63, who moved up to chairman. Bean's grandfather founded the firm in 1892. and his father, Francis A. Bean, is retiring as chairman. The new president is an honor graduate of Minnesota's Carleton College ('31), and Rhodes scholar. He joined International in 1937, had a wartime stint at OPA and in Army Intelligence. He was made executive vice president in 1944 and has concentrated on modernizing the mills.

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