By George Anderson
Merging two large organizations, never mind two the size of the Federated and May department store chains, is never easy. But Federated may have done itself a favor by keeping on key May veterans to lead its Midwest division.
Last week, Federated named William McNamara as the CEO of the division headquartered in St.Louis. Mr. McNamara was formerly the chief merchant for May's stores.
The company also announced that Brian Keck, another former May executive, would take over as the senior vice president of human resources for the Midwest.
Experts in the area of mergers and acquisitions say that Federated's hires show the company is focusing its efforts where it needs to be.
Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that Federated made the right choice in putting McNamara in charge of its Midwest business.
"Federated has got to work on merchandising, merchandising, merchandising," he said.
Linda Nash, president of Resilience Strategies, was impressed by Federated's decision to focus on human resources' issues with its appointment of Mr. Keck.
"It is the human resources, the people, that drive the organization," she told the Post-Dispatch.
A spokesperson for Federated, Jim Sluzewski, said the company's strategy included having two individuals, one with merchandising experience and the other with a background in human resources, finance or store management, run each of its divisions.
Moderator's Comment: What are the keys to successfully managing the merger of large organizations such as Federated and May? What is your assessment of how Federated is handling its acquisition of May to this point? - George Anderson - Moderator