Procter & Gamble Co.'s re-organization in the wake of the departure of Vice Chairman Rob Steele means new leadership for its pet care segment, including its Iams and Eukanuba brands.
Steele, 55, will retire from P&G on September 1, the company announced February 1. In the meantime, Steele will be moved away from day-to-day responsibility for businesses under him, including pet care, which be taken over by Dimitri Panayatopoulos, current vice chairman of global household care.
The businesses Steele leaves behind are mostly in good shape, with the exception of his Iams and Eukanuba brands. Double-digit sales declines the past two quarters for the petfood brands were attributed to a "temporary supply disruption, driven by supply-chain restructuring and process improvements and by voluntary product recall impacts," the company said in October 2010. During the spring and summer of 2010, the company recalled several Iams and Eukanuba products due to potential bacterial contamination.
"Most of the past three years on pet have actually been terrific years," Steele said. "The last two quarters have not been good because of the recall. But for most of the past three years the pet business has done quite well."