APPLIED MATERIALS INC. appointed George S. Davis CFO of the $7 billion semiconductor capital equipment maker, which is based in Santa Clara, Calif. Davis, 49, replaces Nancy H. Handel, who will be retiring in January 2007. Davis had been head of corporate business development since February 2005 and, prior to that, served as treasurer of Applied Materials for six years. Before joining the company, Davis served as vice president of finance for Atlantic Richfield Co.'s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD. named Brian Rice CFO of the $4.9 billion Miami-based cruise company. Rice, 48, was executive vice president of revenue performance prior to his promotion. He succeeds Luis Leon, who is retiring. Rice has extensive experience in financial operations and revenue-performance management. Rice was responsible for developing Royal Caribbean's revenue management systems and procedures. He also designed Royal Caribbean's financial management models.

BEARINGPOINT INC. named Judy Ethell CFO of the McLean, Va.-based $3.4 billion technology consulting company. Ethell, 47, has been serving as chief accounting officer. She replaces BearingPoint's CEO Harry You, who has been the interim CFO since May 2005. As CAO, Ethell led the effort to complete the audit of BearingPoint's 2004 financial statements and is leading efforts to complete the 2005 and 2006 audits. Ethell will retain her title as CAO, responsible for developing new financial control and reporting systems.

ALCOA INC. named Joseph R. Lucot vice president and corporate controller of the New York-based $26.2 billion aluminum maker. He succeeds Charles D. McLane, who was appointed CFO. Lucot, 42, joined Alcoa in 1997 as assistant controller, responsible for accounting policy development and deployment, internal and external reporting, due diligence and planning. In 2001, he was named vice president of finance for the primary products business unit and in 2002 assumed financial responsibility for Alcoa Europe.

ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS CORP. named Anthony Glasby vice president and treasurer of the Plano, Tex.-based $9.8 billion technology services company. Glasby, 44, succeeds Ron Vargo, who was named, in August, executive vice president and CFO at EDS. Glasby joined EDS in the United Kingdom in 1987 and has held positions of increasing responsibility, including most recently as assistant treasurer. Before joining EDS, Glasby held finance positions at Reed International PLC, a UK-based multinational.

MARSH & MCLENNAN COS. INC. named Alan W. Bieler as treasurer of the $11.6 billion New York insurer and risk management specialist. He succeeds and will report to Matthew B. Bartley, who was appointed CFO of the company. Bieler, 44, joined MMC in July 2001 as assistant treasurer. Prior to joining MMC, he worked at PepsiCo Inc., serving in a number of positions, including director of corporate finance. Earlier in his career, Bieler held a number of finance positions at Cooper Industries and GE Capital Corp.

TIMKEN CO. appointed J. Ted Mihaila to senior vice president and controller of the $5.2 billion bearings manufacturer, which is based in Canton, Ohio. Mihaila, 51, has served as controller for Timken's industrial group since 2000 and took on the added responsibility of vice president in charge of new business development this year. Mihaila joined Timken in 1975, holding finance positions of increasing responsibility. He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Akron and an MBA from Kent State University.

FERRO CORP. appointed Sallie B. Bailey as vice president and CFO of the Cleveland-based $1.9 billion materials manufacturer. Bailey replaces Thomas M. Gannon, who has served as CFO since 2003. Bailey, 47, joins Ferro from the Timken Co., where she served as senior vice president and controller. At Timken, she was responsible for global treasury, financial reporting, tax and financial performance and planning. She joined Timken in 1995 as director of finance and was promoted to treasurer.