High-Level Mobility

In the upper reaches of U.S. business last week, it seemed to be moving day. All told, seven major corporations named new senior executives. Most drastic shift was the appointment of Robert E. Brooker, 56, as president of Montgomery Ward--a company whose top executives have been more mobile than most. In 24 years Ward has run through eight presidents; the last, Paul M. Hammaker, went out only four months ago amid stockholder yelps over poor earnings.

Brooker may prove just what Ward needs. At least, he was trained in the right place: Sears, Roebuck & Co., where he rose to a vice-presidency for manufacturing before leaving in 1958 to head the Sears-affiliated Whirlpool Corp. But his appointment helped kill the enthusiasm of Sol Cantor, president of New York's discount-minded Interstate Department Stores, for a previously planned merger with Ward. Cantor and other Interstate brass were miffed when Ward's Chairman John Barr did not check the selection of Brooker with them.

To lure Brooker away from Whirlpool, Barr realigned Ward's pecking order, abolishing the title of chief executive officer, which Barr himself had held, and establishing a new title--chief administrative officer--which went to Brooker. This, said Barr, means that "chairman and president are now on a par." Ward, which still suffers from the aftereffects of longtime (1935-55) Chairman Sewell Avery's ironhanded management, is as yet reaping no profit from Barr's costly drive to open new stores. Last year the company earned only $15 million--a 50% drop from the previous year. Brooker, a master at merchandising, is expected to give Ward a sales push that has been badly lacking under Lawyer Barr.

Other new faces in executive suites last week:

> No sooner had the stockholders of National Airlines routinely re-elected George T. ("Ted") Baker, 60, as chairman and president, than the tough old pilot sprang a surprise: though continuing as chairman of the company, he resigned as president and chief executive officer in favor of his personable nephew, 42-year-old Robert E. Wieland. One Wieland plan to snap National out of its financial spin (it lost more than $7,250,000 for the year ended June 30): "Make it easier for the passenger to get his ticket and get aboard--and when he deplanes, get his baggage to him quicker."

> President J. Huber Wetenhall, 60, will become chief executive officer of New York's National Dairy Products Corp. (Kraft, Sealtest, Breakstone Foods), succeeding Chairman Edward E. Stewart, who retires next month. Reticent Huber Wetenhall moves in at a time when, except for the New York City milk strike, National Dairy is doing better than ever: sales for the first nine months hit a record $1.3 billion.

> William N. Deramus III, 45, former president of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, takes over from his 73-year-old father as president of Kansas City Southern Railway. In his four years at the debt-racked Katy, hard-bitten "Young Bill" alienated local affection by reducing employment, skimping on maintenance. At K.C.S. he will find that Father Deramus has the line in such good shape that it earned $3,400,000 for 1961's first eight months.

> As a replacement for Young Bill, Katy turned to Charles T. Williams, 51, the line's executive vice president, who is expected to continue young Deramus' ruthless cost cutting.

> John Harris Ward, 53, moves in as chairman and chief executive officer of Chicago's Commonwealth Edison Co., the nation's third largest public utility. He succeeds Willis D. Gale, 62, who becomes chairman of the executive committee. Harvard-educated (class of '30), Ward intends to push Commonwealth Edison further into household electric heating and the uses of automated machinery. His reasoning: "The more industry uses these wonderful gadgets, the more electricity is consumed."

> Dr. George A. Roberts, 42, was named president and chief executive officer of Vanadium-Alloys Steel Co. of Latrobe, Pa., filling posts left vacant by the recent death of James P. Gill. A Carnegie Tech graduate and an expert in metallurgy, Dr. Roberts was previously the company's vice president for technology, directed the development of important heat-resistant alloys for use in the skins of missiles and supersonic aircraft.

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