Rod Little, who has served as CFO of Edgewell Personal Care Co. in Shelton since March 2018, has been named president and CEO of the company, effective March 1. He succeeds David Hatfield, who will retire from the company on that same date.
Little has also been appointed to the company’s board of directors effective March 1, which will expand the board by one member. In order to facilitate a smooth transition, Hatfield will continue to serve as a director on the Edgewell Board until May 1.
The board has also appointed John C. Hunter, an independent director who serves as chairman of Edgewell”™s Compensation Committee, as nonexecutive chairman of the board, effective March 1.
Edgewell is a consumer products company whose portfolio includes Schick and Wilkinson Sword men’s and women’s shaving systems and disposable razors; Edge and Skintimate shave preparations; Playtex, Stayfree, Carefree and o.b. feminine care products; Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic sun care products; and Wet Ones moist wipes. The company operates in more than 50 markets, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Japan and Australia.
“We have significant opportunities to drive growth by building our core brands, taking further decisive actions to operate more efficiently, and reorienting our portfolio to focus on growth opportunities,” Little said.
Before joining Edgewell, Little was CFO at HSN Inc.and earlier was executive vice president and CFO of Elizabeth Arden.
R. David Hoover, lead independent director of the Edgewell board, noted that Hatfield was Edgewell’s first CEO. “Over the past 18 months in particular,” he said, “David helped strengthen Edgewell by increasing investment in new growth initiatives, launching Project Fuel, an enterprisewide initiative to transform the company’s business and cost structure, and strengthening the management team with key leadership changes.”
