In conjunction with this announcement, the company’s board of directors elected Mark A. Buthman senior vice president and CFO, effective January 1, 2003. Buthman, 42, is currently vice president of finance for Kimberly-Clark.
“Jack has been a major contributor to the company’s success throughout his career as a senior member of Kimberly-Clark’s leadership team,” said Thomas J. Falk, president and chief executive officer. “In planning for this move, Jack and Mark have worked closely together over the past several years to ensure a smooth transition.
“Mark is a well-known and respected leader at Kimberly-Clark. He brings to this position a deep knowledge of our company and a strong background in finance and strategic planning. His considerable skills, talent and energy will be invaluable as we continue building Kimberly-Clark’s position as a leading global consumer products company.”
Speaking on behalf of the board of directors, Chairman Wayne R. Sanders said, “I have known and admired Jack since we first began working together in 1975 when I joined the company. I extend our gratitude to Jack for his service to Kimberly-Clark throughout a career that spans nearly thirty years.”
As chief financial officer, Donehower has been the architect of building a strong balance sheet and helping focus the organization on growth and cash flow. This emphasis has allowed the company to fund a continual stream of product innovations, acquisitions and its share repurchase program. Under his leadership, Kimberly-Clark has consistently maintained a “AA” credit-rating – a ranking achieved by only a handful of industrial companies in the U.S.
As managing director of K-C’s Australian operations, and later as president of the company’s then World Support Group, Donehower was instrumental in increasing Kimberly-Clark’s global presence. He played a key role in Kimberly-Clark’s merger with Scott Paper Company in 1995, a company-transforming acquisition that contributed significantly to making K-C a worldwide consumer products giant.
Buthman Brings Financial and Planning Expertise; Olsen Named VP of Finance
Buthman, 42, has held positions of increasing responsibility since joining Kimberly-Clark as a financial associate in 1982. Among his recent achievements is the reengineering of the global finance department to provide higher levels of support to K-C’s business teams at lower cost. As part of this effort, Buthman is leading the implementation of a new worldwide business planning process that integrates the company’s strategic planning, budgeting and performance measurement activities.
In addition, he has championed K-C’s SAP financial information systems upgrade in North America – part of the largest systems investment in the company’s history – to improve the effectiveness of its back office operations.
During his 20 years with Kimberly-Clark, Buthman has been involved in a number of acquisitions and divestitures as the company changed its business profile to focus on the three core areas of Personal Care, Consumer Tissue and Business-to-Business. He was a member of the three-person team that coordinated the integration of Kimberly-Clark and Scott Paper operations following the merger.
Rodney G. Olsen, 47, currently vice president of finance and administration for Europe, Middle East and Africa, will replace Buthman as vice president of finance. Olsen joined Kimberly-Clark in 1991 as director of corporate reporting and in 1992 was named assistant controller. In 1997, he was named controller for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and was appointed to his current position in 2000. Most recently, he led the successful establishment of a European shared services center, which centralizes all regional business services and data processing functions.
Board Elects Gottung and Perkins Senior Vice Presidents
Separately, the board of directors today elected Lizanne C. (Liz) Gottung, 46, currently vice president for human resources as senior vice president of human resources for the company. Cheryl A. Perkins, 42, currently vice president and chief technical officer was elected as senior vice president and chief technical officer. Both will continue to report directly to Falk.
“These promotions reflect the tremendous contributions Liz and Cheryl have made to Kimberly-Clark as members of the company’s senior leadership team,” Falk said.
Kimberly-Clark Information Kit
An electronic news kit containing biographies and photos of Jack Donehower, Mark Buthman, Rodney Olsen, Liz Gottung and Cheryl Perkins and company information is available at www.kimberly-clark.com/news/KCnewskit.asp.
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a leading global consumer products company. Its tissue, personal care and health care products are manufactured in 42 countries and sold in more than 150. Kimberly-Clark is home to some of the world’s most trusted and recognized brands, including Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend. Nearly one-quarter of the world’s population, or 1.3 billion people, use Kimberly-Clark products each year. Kimberly-Clark has been among Fortune magazine’s “Most Admired” corporations since 1983 and was recently named to its list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.” For more information about Kimberly-Clark’s well-known brands, visit the Kimberly-Clark Web site at www.kimberly-clark.com
Certain matters contained in this news release concerning the business outlook, including new product introductions, cost savings and acquisitions, anticipated financial and operating results, strategies, contingencies and transactions of the company constitute forward-looking statements and are based upon management’s expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting the company. There can be no assurance that these future events will occur as anticipated or that the company’s results will be as estimated. For a description of certain factors that could cause the company’s future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements, see the section of Part I, Item 1 of the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001, entitled “Factors That May Affect Future Results.”