Procter & Gamble has announced a new chief executive just hours ahead of its second quarter results early Friday U.S. time. Its stock has gained less than 1% since the start of the year. Its market value is $341.48 billion.
Current chief operating officer Jon Moeller will replace David Taylor as chief executive. Taylor will become its board executive chairperson.
Taylor, 62, had been CEO since Nov. 1, 2015, succeeding A.G. Lafley, who himself became executive chairperson of Procter & Gamble Co. Taylor will step down Nov. 1.
Moeller, 57, is currently the vice chairperson of Procter & Gamble. He will also assume the role of president which Taylor currently holds.
A Cornell University graduate, Moeller has been with the company since 1988, when he was hired as a cost analyst for Procter & Gamble's food products division.
"Jon has been an integral part of Procter & Gamble's leadership team for well over two decades, helping develop the strategies that Procter & Gamble people are executing with excellence to drive Procter & Gamble Co.'s growth and value creation," James McNerney, lead director of Procter & Gamble's board, said in a statement.
"He is an outstanding leader, and the company will benefit from his ongoing leadership to build on the strong momentum he has helped create over the last few years."
Taylor's term as CEO was defined by a proxy fight with investor Nelson Peltz in 2017. Despite defeating Peltz's bid for a seat on its board, Procter & Gamble elected him as a director later that year, indicating that he had received a substantial percentage of shareholder votes.
"We thank David for his strategic leadership and guidance over the last six years as the company has returned to consistent balanced growth and value creation," McNerney added.
Procter & Gamble announced Thursday Shailesh Jejurikar has been appointed chief operating officer as of Oct. 1.
Jejurikar is currently chief executive of the company's fabric and home care unit.
