——————–

The Boeing Co., a $54 billion Chicago-based defense contractor and aerospace company, named James Bell acting CFO to replace Michael Sears, who was fired for recruiting a government official while the official was still working on matters involving Boeing. Bell, 55, has been serving as corporate controller and senior vice president of finance. He has worked in auditing, finance and program management since joining Rockwell in 1972; Boeing acquired Rockwell's space and defense business in 1996. Boeing also promoted Paul Kinscherff to corporate treasurer to replace Walt Skowronski, who was named president of its financing subsidiary, Boeing Capital Corp. Kinscherff, 45, was most recently Boeing's vice president of investor relations.

MetLife Inc., a $33.1 billion New York-based insurance company, promoted William Wheeler to CFO. He replaces Stewart Nagler, who is retiring. Wheeler, 42, was most recently head of individual business product management, marketing and business development. Previously he served as CFO of the institutional business division after joining MetLife in 1997 as treasurer. Earlier, Wheeler was an investment banker at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. Separately, MetLife hired Joseph Prochaska as its finance operations and chief accounting officer, a new position. Prochaska, 52, was most recently controller of Aon Corp.

James Donlon III was named CFO and senior vice president of Kmart Holding Corp. and its subsidiary, Kmart Corp., a discount retailer with 2003 revenues of $30.7 billion. Donlon, 57, is retiring from DaimlerChrysler Corp. as of year-end and starts at Kmart on Jan. 1. He has held various finance positions since joining the company in 1979 and most recently was controller and senior vice president for the Chrysler Group. Kmart has not had a CFO since last May, when Al Koch, a principal of turnaround advisors AlixPartners, left as Kmart emerged from bankruptcy. DaimlerChrysler named David Olsen to replace Donlon. Olsen, 49, was most recently CFO and vice president of DaimlerChrysler Services North America.

Paul Hough was named corporate treasurer and senior vice president of the American Express Co., a $23.8 billion financial services provider based in New York. He replaces Walter Berman, who was named executive vice president of market risk and will retain his position as CFO of the financial advisors division. Hough, 44, was most recently CFO and senior vice president of business development for the global network and establishment services, travelers cheques and prepaid services groups. He joined the company in 1984 as a senior analyst in finance and earlier worked at Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co.

Janet Clark was named CFO and senior vice president of Marathon Oil Corp., a $31.4 billion oil and gas exploration and production company based in Houston. She succeeds John Mills, who is retiring. Clark, 48, joins Marathon from Nuevo Energy, another Houston energy company, where she had been CFO and senior vice president since 2001. Earlier, she served as CFO of Sante Fe Energy and worked as an investment banker at First Boston Corp. Nuevo, which had $319.0 million in 2002 revenues, said its controller, Michael Wilkes, would serve as interim CFO.

Scot McDonald was named controller and vice president of Electronic Data Systems Corp., a $21.5 billion provider of systems management and outsourcing services based in Plano, Texas. He succeeds Mike Milton, who was named CFO and vice president of the company's service delivery organization. McDonald, 38, will retain his position as chief accounting officer. He joined the company in 1996 as accounting and finance manager. Earlier, McDonald worked for KPMG.

Schering-Plough Corp., a $10.1 billion pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Kenilworth, N.J., named Robert Bertolini CFO and executive vice president. He replaces Jack Wyszomierski, who is leaving to pursue other interests after serving as CFO since 1996. Bertolini, 41, was most recently lead partner of the global pharmaceutical industry group at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he headed a team of 1,500 professionals serving drug companies and other health-related industries. Bertolini started his career at the former Coopers & Lybrand in 1983.

Jay Benet, currently CFO and executive vice president of Travelers Property Casualty Corp., will hold the same position for The St. Paul Travelers Cos. when Travelers merges with The St. Paul Companies Inc. Thomas Bradley, CFO of St. Paul, will report to Benet and be responsible for a range of finance activities, including financial reporting. The merger is expected to close in the second quarter. Benet, 51, has been Travelers' CFO since it went public in 2002. Earlier, he served as Citigroup's worldwide leader of financial planning, analysis and reporting, and as CFO for Citigroup's consumer unit in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Benet also spent 10 years at Travelers Life & Annuity. Bradley, 46, joined St. Paul when it merged with USF&G in 1998.

Rosemarie Loffredo was promoted to vice president of finance at International Paper Co., the $24.9 billion paper products company with headquarters in Stamford, Conn. The position is a new one for the company. Loffredo had been assistant treasurer of domestic finance since joining International Paper in 2000. Earlier, she was international treasurer for MBNA America and worked for Bankers Trust Co. and The First National Bank of Chicago.