Newell Brands announced Wednesday it has appointed Christopher Peterson as its interim CEO, effective Friday.
Peterson, who previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer for the Hoboken-based consumer goods company, will succeed CEO and President Michael Polk, who is retiring at the end of June.
“Chris has earned the respect of our board, executive team and employees since joining the company last year, and has the board’s full confidence as he takes on the role of interim CEO,” Patrick Campbell, chairman of the board, said. “The search for a permanent CEO is proceeding well and the board expects to be in a position to announce an external hire as the permanent CEO in the upcoming weeks. We are confident that Newell Brands is taking the right steps to execute its transformation, drive growth and increase shareholder value as a leading consumer products company.”
Peterson will continue his duties at EVP and COO in addition to his new role, the company said.
“I am honored to serve as the interim CEO of Newell Brands and am excited about the opportunity we have to improve the company’s organizational capability, return to core sales growth and drive shareholder value creation,” Peterson said.
Prior to Newell, Peterson was was chief operating officer, operations at Revlon Inc. Before that, he spent four years at Ralph Lauren, starting as senior vice president, chief financial officer and leaving as president, global brands. Prior to Ralph Laurel, he spent 20 years at Proctor & Gamble in various roles of responsibility. He began his career at Smith Barney Harris Upham & Co. Inc.
