PEOPLE NEWS
Coca-Cola Enterprises' Board of Directors has elected Shaun B. Higgins, currently senior vice president and chief strategy and planning officer, to the post of chief financial officer, effective August 16, 2004. Higgins, 54, will succeed Patrick J. Mannelly, who has elected to retire.
Higgins has 18 years in the Coca-Cola system and more than 26 years in the soft drink industry. Prior to leading CCE's corporate strategy and planning function, he was president of CCE's European Group, president and chief operating officer of Coca-Cola Beverages Ltd., chief financial officer of Coca-Cola Beverages and chief financial officer of The Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of New York. He was named to his current post in early 2003.
Mannelly, 49, has served as chief financial officer since 1999. He will continue as a consultant to CCE through the end of 2004 to ensure a seamless transition.
In other news, federal prosecutors have unsealed criminal charges against four former executives of U.S. Foodservice, accusing them of inflating the company's revenue by more than $800 million in 2001 and 2002.
According to an indictment, the four executives exaggerated their company's revenue to meet budget targets expected by Royal Ahold, the Dutch parent company of U.S. Foodservice. By allegedly falsifying revenue, the four men received lucrative bonuses from their company.
The four executives charged are Michael Resnick, 42; Mark Kaiser, 47; Timothy Lee, 40; and William Carter, 43. Carter and Lee have already pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the fraud and are cooperating with the government's investigation.
Ahold, which is trying to get out of the convenience store business so it can focus on its core food operations and supermarkets, has been trying to sell 127 Wilson Farms stores, 67 Sugar Creek stores and 10 free-standing Tops Xpress locations.
Higgins has 18 years in the Coca-Cola system and more than 26 years in the soft drink industry. Prior to leading CCE's corporate strategy and planning function, he was president of CCE's European Group, president and chief operating officer of Coca-Cola Beverages Ltd., chief financial officer of Coca-Cola Beverages and chief financial officer of The Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of New York. He was named to his current post in early 2003.
Mannelly, 49, has served as chief financial officer since 1999. He will continue as a consultant to CCE through the end of 2004 to ensure a seamless transition.
In other news, federal prosecutors have unsealed criminal charges against four former executives of U.S. Foodservice, accusing them of inflating the company's revenue by more than $800 million in 2001 and 2002.
According to an indictment, the four executives exaggerated their company's revenue to meet budget targets expected by Royal Ahold, the Dutch parent company of U.S. Foodservice. By allegedly falsifying revenue, the four men received lucrative bonuses from their company.
The four executives charged are Michael Resnick, 42; Mark Kaiser, 47; Timothy Lee, 40; and William Carter, 43. Carter and Lee have already pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the fraud and are cooperating with the government's investigation.
Ahold, which is trying to get out of the convenience store business so it can focus on its core food operations and supermarkets, has been trying to sell 127 Wilson Farms stores, 67 Sugar Creek stores and 10 free-standing Tops Xpress locations.