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CAG ,,, ConAgra Searches for New CEO, Chairman
Wednesday May 11, 4:24 pm ET
By Joe Ruff, Associated Press Writer
ConAgra Searches for New CEO, Chairman After Bruce Rohde Says He's Stepping Down


OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- ConAgra Foods Inc. is looking for a new chief executive and chairman after Bruce Rohde said he is stepping down after eight years at the helm and transforming an agriculturally based conglomerate into a more focused packaged-foods retailer.
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Bruce Rohde, 56, asked the company's board of directors Tuesday for a search committee. A time table was not established, ConAgra spokesman Chris Kircher said Wednesday.

Whether Rohde would remain with the company in some capacity, such as chairman, was not immediately known, Kircher said. How the succession proceeds will depend on who the candidates are, Kircher said.

In a news release, Rohde, who has been chief executive since September 1997 and chairman since 1998, said the company had made progress and was poised for new growth.

The search committee will be led by ConAgra board member Steven Goldstone, retired chairman and chief executive of RJR Nabisco, board members said.

Kircher said Rohde had initiated discussion of his succession. Rohde was not immediately available to comment.

When Rohde took charge, about half of ConAgra's sales involved commodities such as fresh beef, pork, chicken and canned seafood. Rohde sold those business and last year, more than 80 percent of ConAgra's sales came from branded foods and value-added foods.

Now one of the nation's largest food companies, its brands include Act II popcorn, Healthy Choice, Banquet, Chef Boyardee and Manwich.

ConAgra has struggled as it sought to centralize management, improve its technology and consolidate its processing plants.

In March, the company said its third-quarter operating profit in the period ended Feb. 27 fell 12.6 percent, to $396 million, compared with the year before, because of weak results in refrigerated branded meats, food production problems and inefficiencies in technology consolidation.

Analyst John McMillin of Prudential Equity Group in New York said Wednesday that ConAgra needs someone with operations expertise to replace Rohde, who is an attorney.

Rohde's work with ConAgra dates to 1974 and includes representing it in more than 200 acquisitions as the company grew, largely by purchasing other firms.

"He's a dealmaker," McMillin said. "Now it's time to block and tackle."

In a report Tuesday, McMillin said Rohde's announcement raises questions about whether there are fundamental problems at ConAgra.

"Costs remain high and there could be earnings disappointments," said McMillin, who has questioned the quality of ConAgra's brands and criticized Rohde's performance.

Still, return on ConAgra's stock should remain about average for the industry, McMillin said.

Rohde had gone into the job with the idea of serving about 10 years and any problems the company has had did not play a role in Rohde's decision, Kircher said.

"He was brought in to transform the company and act as a change agent," Kircher said. That has been accomplished, and the next step is implementing a plan for growth, Kircher said.

Also in its March earnings report, the company said it would restate its financial results for 2004 and the first half of fiscal 2005. It blamed income tax errors found as part of a review of financial controls required by the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform law. Last month, ConAgra said those errors would cost it about $105 million.

ConAgra shares rose 12 cents to close at $27.19 in Wednesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where they have traded in a 52-week range of $25.38 to $30.24.

ConAgra Foods: http://www.conagrafoods.com





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