For example, Peltz wanted R&D given to the business units,
but corporate R&D will continue working on projects that span
multiple categories or move into new ones. The sector units will be
responsible for sales people in most of the world, but even there
"market leaders" from P&G will still work directly with top
executives at such retailers as Walmart or Tesco.
Last year, Taylor described Peltz's plan as a prelude to a
company breakup. Under the new organization, breaking up is still
hard to do. The six sectors share multi-category manufacturing and
distribution centers, plus integrated sales and corporate functions
across Central and Eastern Europe and most of the southern
hemisphere.
Marketing and media won't be affected
so much
Peltz wanted his semi-autonomous business units to control media
buying. That isn't happening, as those duties will still be handled
by corporate market operations, a spokeswoman says. Vice Chairman
and Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller, answering a question
yesterday about why P&G's scale still mattered given the
organizational breakup, pointed to how Chief Brand Officer Marc
Pritchard's push for more accountability from digital media last
year wouldn't have been possible without P&G's combined buying
clout.
That said, business units already have some say in choosing
their media agencies, as P&G's North American hair-care
business showed in switching from Omnicom's Hearts & Science to
Dentsu's Carat earlier this year. And P&G is letting brand
managers do more self-service buying in digital and social media.
Peltz wanted P&G brands to have more flexibility to hire and
fire ad agencies, and the "fixed and flow" model P&G adopted
earlier this year makes that easier for many projects.
The dispersal of corporate staff to business units won't be as
pronounced in Pritchard's brand group as in other parts of the
company, says spokesman Damon Jones, since most marketing already
is handled by the business units, and corporate marketing, such as
P&G's Olympics sponsorship program, will continue.
CFO's power grows
Jon Moeller adds to his power, taking on the additional duties
of chief operating officer and overseeing sales and corporate
functions in all of Latin America, India, Australia, and Central
and Eastern Europe. He'll also oversee some corporate functions
like information technology globally.
P&G has a bunch more
CEOs
Leaders of the new Sector Business Units get CEO titles and
report to Taylor, including Stephen Bishop, 54, in Health Care;
Gary Coombe, 54, in Grooming; Mary Lynn Ferguson-McHugh, 59, in
Family Care & Ventures; Fama Francisco, 49, in Baby &
Feminine Care; Shailesh Jejurikar, 51, in Fabric & Home Care;
and Alex Keith, 50, in Beauty.
CEO succession prospects clarify
some
Moeller, 54, moves into a chief operating officer role that puts
him second in line to Taylor, 60. Except for Ferguson-McHugh, all
the new CEOs also are six or more years younger than Taylor,
putting them in line to move up in P&G's traditional
promote-from-within model.
Whether that happens depends on how well the company does.
P&G's board considered outside candidates when Taylor was
appointed in 2015, and could look outside again when he leaves. And
if these new pieces of P&G ultimately do get broken off, all
bets are off.