P&G CEO Lafley Set To Leave Company : WSJ

(RTTNews) - Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) appears to be laying the groundwork for Chief Executive Officer A.G. Lafley to step down as soon as this summer and hand the top job to an internal successor, the Wall Street Journal reported.

In private meetings with Wall Street analysts and investors, senior P&G executives including Lafley himself reportedly have made comments that signaled the 67-year-old CEO, now in his second turn at the helm, could vacate the post this year. Lafley is likely to remain chairman for another year or two to help smooth the transition to a new CEO.

According to report, the CEO's new successor is widely expected to be David Taylor, a 56-year-old P&G executive who has also been at the company for close to 35 years.

Lafley, a 35-year P&G veteran who previously was CEO from 2000 to 2009, came out of retirement two years ago with a mandate to revive the company's fortunes and find a new successor. His original successor, Robert McDonald, left in 2013 amid shareholder discontent about sluggish performance during his four years in charge.

Lafley hasn't publicly mapped out a time frame for his departure, saying he will serve for as long as P&G's board wants him in the job, the report stated.