Alberto-Culver Launches Search For U.S. President As Stecz Leaves
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Alberto-Culver is conducting a search for a new head of Alberto-Culver USA to fill the post of Terrence Stecz, who has left the company for Pharmacia & Upjohn's consumer healthcare division.
|
Alberto-Culver is conducting a search for a new head of Alberto-Culver USA to fill the post of Terrence Stecz, who has left the company for Pharmacia & Upjohn's consumer healthcare division. The executive search firm Ray & Berndtson has been brought on to seek a successor, assisted by an in-house team headed by North American President Carol Bernick. In the interim, Bernick will take over responsibility for Alberto's U.S. business. Stecz' decision to leave Alberto came as a surprise to the company. The exec spent only nine months at Alberto, having joined in April from American Home Products ("The Rose Sheet" April 20, 1998, p. 3). He succeeded Bernick, who had served in that position since 1984. With the move to P&U, Stecz returns to the pharmaceutical and OTC industry. He now serves as U.S. consumer healthcare president and VP-consumer healthcare worldwide, where he will oversee the Rogaine (minoxidil) OTC hair regrowth brand. Stecz reports to P&U Senior VP and Consumer Health Care President Jorgen Johnsson. A 20-year veteran of AHP, Stecz held several senior executive positions in the OTC product area. From 1990 through 1994, he served as president and general manager of A.H. Robins consumer products and, from 1994 to 1997, he was president of Whitehall-Robins Healthcare. At P&U, Stecz succeeds Michael Valentino, who has left the firm to "pursue another opportunity," the company said. Valentino spent nearly two-and-a-half years at the helm of Pharmacia & Upjohn's U.S. OTC business. Stecz arrives at a time of transition at P&U. The firm is in the midst of relocating its consumer products and pharmaceuticals operations into one combined facility. Currently, the consumer products headquarters are in Kalamazoo, Mich., while the pharmaceuticals group is in Bridgewater, N.J. P&U is building a 550,000 sq. ft. facility in Peapack, N.J. that will house both divisions and employ roughly 1,000 employees. The building is expected to be completed by the fall. |