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Jamaican,
Basil L. Andersen is Top Financial Strategist at Staples |
Staples Inc., which has been watching its stock price and earnings decline in recent months, plans to announce today that it has appointed Basil L. Anderson, the chief financial officer who helped to reshape Campbell Soup Co., as vice chairman of the Framingham-based office supplies giant. Anderson, a native of Jamaica, will join the few top-level black executives at Fortune 500 corporations in Massachusetts. Although his departure in April from Campbell may have made the soup maker less diverse, some observers said his arrival at Staples may help the Boston area to attract other minority professionals.
Anderson, a key strategist in remolding Campbell's finances, won accolades after he and CEO David W. Johnson launched a series of cost-cutting initiatives, acquisitions, and sell-offs. Before joining Campbell Soup in 1996, Anderson had served as chief financial officer at Scott Paper Co.
''We could not think of anybody else we'd rather'' have on board, said Staples' president, Ronald L. Sargent, who will rise to chief executive in February. ''His skills complement mine."
Sargent was instrumental in hiring Anderson, who has served on Staples' board of directors since 1997. In informal conversations with Anderson, executives had discussed the possibility of a move to Staples' Framingham headquarters. In July, Sargent met Anderson for dinner at an off-the-beaten-track Italian restaurant in Philadelphia, where he made the formal offer.
Anderson, who will be responsible for overseeing the company's strategic, business development, and financial initiatives, said he was impressed with Staples' operations and strong management team.
''Staples is not a company in a turnaround situation, by any means,'' the 56-year-old executive said. ''But the performance in the last couple of months is obviously not where we want it to be.''
In coming months, executives will focus on improving profitability and growth; long term, they will look to ''make this a more global company,'' Anderson said.
Following his fifth anniversary with Campbell Soup, Anderson retired to spend more time with his family. In addition, he believed that the strategies he helped launch in the late 1990s were no longer as critical because the company's needs had changed. During his tenure at Campbell Soup, Anderson wasn't without critics. Along with other senior managers, he received some share of the blame last year after the company was forced to buy back common stock, due to forward-purchase agreements, resulting in significant losses. And in January, a debt-laden Vlasic Foods International Inc., which Campbell had spun off in 1998, filed for bankruptcy protection.
(Boston Globe)