Business Notes Executive Suite

When a Navy consultant inadvertently left a confidential report at Bath Iron Works last May, officials of the Maine defense contractor could not resist the temptation to peek. Chairman William Haggett ordered up a photocopy of the report, which reviewed the cost of a rival firm's work on the Aegis guided- missile destroyer program. But after briefly scanning the report, Haggett decided he had made "an inappropriate business-ethics decision" and returned the document to the Navy, which launched an investigation.

Still filled with remorse, Haggett, 57, stepped aside last week as chief executive officer, a position he had held since 1983. While he will remain chairman, Haggett turned over to president Duane Fitzgerald day-to-day responsibility for the company, whose work force of 10,400 makes it the largest employer in Maine. Haggett, the son of a Bath Iron Works pipe fitter, said he relinquished control because he had failed to set a strong moral example when he copied the sensitive Navy document.