Familiar faces settle in new executive places

In Springfield, the executives, they are a-changin’.
Several area companies have undergone significant shakeups in their corner offices recently, and the emerging trend seems to be promotion from within.
Barker-Phillips-Jackson, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Missouri Partners Inc. and American Dehydrated Foods all have seen changes at the highest levels, and all four have promoted from within their organizations.
Scott Christiansen of The Christiansen Group, an executive search firm, said whether a company chooses to look internally for executives depends on the situation.
“If they feel like they have an individual identified and ready internally, certainly they’re going to promote that person,” he said.

Barker-Phillips-Jackson
Tom Montileone was promoted to CEO of Barker-Phillips-Jackson Inc. in February. He was formerly the company’s president and chief operating officer. He said the change was really more in name than in job duties.
“A little over two years ago, Dick Jackson, who was the president and CEO of the company, retired,” Montileone said. “I took over as president and COO. Dick stayed on under a consulting agreement with the company and also stayed on as chairman of the board and CEO. At our annual shareholder meeting in February of this year, the board voted to have Dick relinquish the title of CEO, and at that time I became president and CEO and dropped the COO title.”
Montileone added that the change was made with Jackson’s help.
“The first change that happened two years ago was due to (Jackson’s) retirement,” Montileone said. “This change was basically just due to my maturity in the position. The board was very pleased with the success of the company, and so Dick Jackson said that I was taking over as CEO.”
O’Reilly Auto Parts
David O’Reilly is one step closer to retirement. In February, O’Reilly moved from O’Reilly Auto Parts CEO to a new position as chairman of the board. Greg Henslee and Ted Wise were promoted from co-presidents to CEO and chief operating officer, respectively.
“It’s been kind of a transitional process that we’ve gone through over the last few years, and it’ll continue that way,” Henslee said. “Basically what this change means is that Ted Wise and myself will be 100 percent responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business, though David will stay involved from a finance perspective. The primary management of the business will take place between Ted and myself.”
O’Reilly’s stock (Nasdaq:ORLY), which sold for $48 per share at the close of trading Feb. 23, has been in a significant climb since the announcement, closing the day March 9 at $51.63 per share.
Henslee said O’Reilly’s step back from daily operations is of his own choosing.
“This is another step toward David having less day-to-day responsibility and being able to make a transition into having more time for himself,” Henslee said. “He’s not retiring, but this is one step toward that.”

St. John’s
St. John’s also is seeing changes at the top, but it may be the exception to the rule. Jon Swope, senior vice president and chief operating officer at St. John’s Regional Health Center in Springfield, is leaving for the president and CEO positions of Mercy Health System of Kansas. In his new position starting March 28, Swope will be in charge of health centers in Fort Scott and Independence as well as Kansas’ Mercy Physicians Group.
Swope’s replacement has not been named, but St. John’s spokesperson Cora Scott said a national search is under way to fill the position.
Christiansen said that is not unusual.
“Many times organizations or companies do look to bring in new blood from the outside that has a different way of looking at things,” he said.
Swope said that his current job – running the daily operations of the hospital – prepared him for his job in Kansas: overseeing two hospitals and more than 1,000 employees.
“I’ve been with the Sisters of Mercy Health System for a little over 24 years, and most of my career, quite frankly, I’ve planned for and prepared for being CEO,” he said.
He declined to discuss the difference in compensation with his new job, though he did say it was a promotion.
“For me it wasn’t about money as much as it was bout gaining experience and having the opportunity to be the senior person in the office,” Swope said. “Having the chief executive officer title is probably more important than anything to me.”
St. John’s Regional Health Center President Rob Brodhead is taking care of the COO duties until a replacement for Swope is found.

Other companies
Hollister-based Missouri Partners Inc. announced in December that it, too, is making some changes in the executive suite.
Bob Allen is the new CEO of the company, having started with the company as executive vice president in early 2003. Moira Darst is the company’s new senior vice president, having worked for the company since its inception. Dennis Brixey, a five-year company veteran, is the new chief financial officer.
Springfield-based American Dehydrated Foods Inc. and International Dehydrated Foods Inc. also have changed top brass. Thomas L. Slaight and founder William H. Darr were appointed board chairman and vice chairman, respectively. The companies also named Kurt Hellweg president and CEO, Bob Bell executive vice president and chief operating officer, Paul W. Fry senior vice president and chief financial officer, Bob Hoopingarner vice president of sales and marketing, and Dan Beeman vice president of human resources.