Edgewell Personal Care Company announced that Rod R. Little, who has served as chief financial officer since March 2018, has been appointed president and chief executive officer, effective March 1, 2019. He succeeds David P. Hatfield, who will retire from the company effective March 1, 2019. Little has also been appointed to the company’s Board of Directors effective March 1, 2019, 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, 2019. The Board has appointed John C. Hunter, an independent director who serves as chairman of the Compensation Committee, as non-executive chairman of the Board, effective March 1, 2019.

Little says, “I am honored to lead Edgewell at this important time for the company. Despite the challenging market environment, 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. Edgewell’s strongest competitive advantage is our team of employees who are dedicated to innovating and challenging conventions to advance our business. I look forward to working closely with them and my colleagues on the leadership team to enhance shareholder value by executing on our strategies and building innovative brands that consumers love.”

“Rod has played an integral role in helping lead the company through a challenging period of transition, and we are pleased to appoint him as Edgewell’s next president and CEO,” says R. David Hoover, lead independent director of the Edgewell Board of Directors. “Rod’s work developing and executing Project Fuel makes him uniquely qualified to continue overseeing these efforts. We are confident that Edgewell will be solidly positioned to drive value creation under Rod’s leadership.”

Little brings more than 20 years of global experience in consumer goods organizations, significant public company experience and a strong track record of driving results. Previously, he served as CFO with HSN, Inc. and prior to that, as EVP and CFO of Elizabeth Arden. Earlier in his career, he was CFO for Procter & Gamble’s global salon professional division, which offered him a broad, global perspective and valuable consumer insights across a wide product portfolio. Little holds a B.S. in Management from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, and an MBA in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh.

Edgewell is conducting a search process to identify a new chief financial officer.