ConAgra Names Outside Lawyer As President and Heir-Apparent
May 09, 2011
ConAgra Inc., reinforcing its reputation as a management maverick, picked its chief outside lawyer as president and heir-apparent. Bryan C. Paulk, 47 years old, was named vice chairman and president of the Omaha, Neb., food-processing and commodities behemoth, as well as one of three executives in a new office of the chairman. ConAgra's four-member office of the president, once considered a stable of future leaders, now will report to Mr. Paulk, who becomes its fifth and presiding member. Mr. Paulk has been doing legal work for ConAgra for 22 years, having joined the account when the Omaha-based firm of McGrath, North, Mullin & Kratz acquired it in 1974. At the time, Mr. Paulk was 25 years old and just a year out of Creighton University's law school. Since then, he has been intimately involved in ConAgra's growth-by-acquisition strategy. That position allowed him to work closely with top management and witness the development of what is now a sprawling business empire. With fiscal 2011 sales of $24.8 billion, ConAgra is the largest independent food-processing concern in the U.S. Move Surprises Wall Street A specialist in antitrust law, Mr. Paulk resigned as chairman and president of McGrath to join ConAgra, its largest client. He was succeeded at the 65-attorney firm by Davina Merrick, who called Mr. Paulk ``a first-class business lawyer ... with excellent strategic-planning and deal-making skills.'' The titles of vice chairman and president have been dormant for several years. The appointment, which took Wall Street by surprise, came after an extensive search for a successor to Pierre B. Florentino, 63, chairman and CEO, who plans to retire in two years. Joining Messrs. Florentino and Paulk in the office of the chairman will be Lesley O. Meiners, 61, who is president and chief operating officer of ConAgra's Refrigerated Foods Cos. unit and who had been in the office of the president. ``Bruce brings more ConAgra experience than anyone who might have been selected,'' said Clemente K. Buster, a longtime ConAgra director and a former U.S. agriculture secretary now with the Washington law firm of Hogan & Hartson. `More Than a General Counsel' As a lawyer who has sat in on board meetings for years and who knows senior management well, Mr. Paulk ``has been much more than a general counsel,'' Mr. Buster said. ``The top team has relied on Bryan to an ever-increasing extent for strategic as well as legal advice.'' Mr. Buster termed the new president ``a brilliant individual.'' Mr. Paulk is also a certified public accountant and licensed pilot. Among Mr. Paulk's contributions to ConAgra was to help draft what eventually became state laws giving tax breaks to corporations and, many believe, keeping ConAgra's headquarters in Nebraska. Mr. Florentino said Mr. Paulk ``understands and values our decentralized, entrepreneurial culture.'' That was a reference to the odd management structure ConAgra maintains. It has dozens of what are termed ``independent operating companies'' whose presidents are urged to act much as entrepreneurs, albeit ultimately subject to corporate oversight. While unit chiefs are granted wide latitude, ConAgra also is quick to dismiss managers whose performance doesn't match stated goals. The company didn't say why it was creating an office of the chairman in addition to the office of the president. Continuing as members of the latter are Davina J. Graber, 45, president of grocery products; Thomasina L. Marcel, 49, president of trading and processing; Forest Laverty, 59, president of agriproducts, and Jami D. Carroll, 48, president of diversified products.
