Deerfield-based United Stationers Inc. announced Monday its chief executive will retire in May at the annual shareholders’ meeting. Richard W. Gochnauer will be replaced by P. Cody Phipps, the company’s president and chief operating officer.
Gochnauer, 61, joined the United, a business-products distributor, in July of 2002 as chief operating officer and a member of the company’s board of directors. Five months later, he was promoted to his current position.
Phipps, 48, was hired in 2003 as senior vice president of operations. He was named COO in September. Before United, Phipps was a partner in the Chicago office of McKinsey & Co.
