More leadership changes at P&G

Procter & Gamble has announced this week that the head of its North American business, Melanie Healey, will retire next June, as the company puts together a new leadership team in an effort to revive weak sales growth.Healey, once widely considered to be a potential successor to current Chief Executive A.G. Lafley, will be succeeded by Carolyn Tastad, who is currently P&G's global customer development officer.Other senior executives exiting include Filippo Passerini, chief information officer and head of global services; Jorge Uribe, global productivity officer; and Joanne Crewes, head of global prestige. Crews is stepping down on Dec. 31, while the other retirements take effect June 30. Also leaving is P&G's top salon professional executive Adil Mehboob-Khan, who has been tapped as eyewear-makerLuxottica's new co-CEO."The way to think about this change is that we are putting together the leadership team for a more streamlined and focused P&G," Paul Fox, director of corporate communications, told Reuters.Earlier, P&G announced a major slashing of its brands in an effort to streamline the company. It said that it would sell, discontinue, merge or eliminate up to 100 brands in the next two years as part of a cost-cutting exercise – focusing on its top 70 to 80 brands. It also announced that it would scrap marketing titles internally, putting the marketing role under its brand function.