• Ad Age, Thursday, April 26, 2007 1:45 PM

Current Colgate COO Ian Cook will succeed longtime CEO Reuben Mark on July 1, although the latter will remain chairman for up to 18 months. During his 23 years at the helm, Mark transformed Colgate from a weak also-ran getting clobbered in the U.S. by P&G into arguably the strongest global company in packaged-goods.

Mark relentlessly focused on categories with stronger margins and growth rates and relatively little private-label competition, as well as by getting into developing markets ahead of competitors.

Though Mark had laid plans for Cook to succeed him last year, the lengthy delay in setting a precise date led to speculation among some close to the company about whether it would happen. Like Mark, Cook is a Colgate lifer with broad experience in virtually all parts of the company, but he lacks his predecessor's stage presence, which fueled some of the speculation.

Read the whole story at Ad Age »