Filed under: Chicago executives

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Tyree tells Mesirow employees chemo is working

James Tyree, the Mesirow Financial chief executive who was diagnosed with stomach cancer in October four years after undergoing kidney and pancreas transplants, told employees of his Chicago-based financial services firm on Wednesday that thanks to chemotherapy “the cancer has not spread, and it is shrinking.”

Tyree, also chairman and owner of Sun-Times Media, suffered from Type 1 diabetes for 25 years, and in late 2006 had a kidney and pancreas transplant that he said essentially cured the diabetes. He has also had four eye surgeries and a defibrillator implanted in his chest. Get the full story »

Allstate Financial names Chandra as COO

Allstate Corp. said Anurag Chandra, 33, will join Allstate Financial as chief operating officer Jan. 31. In the new position, he’ll report to Matthew Winter, chief executive officer of Allstate Financial.

Before joining Allstate, Chandra was chief operating officer for HealthMarkets Inc., a  North Richland Hills, Texas-based  distributor of insurance and retirement products for the self-insured and small business markets. Get the full story »

Benmosche well enough to remain CEO, AIG says

Bob Benmosche will continue as chief executive of bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc., having made sufficient progress in his treatment for cancer, the company said Monday.

AIG said last October that Benmosche was receiving aggressive chemotherapy for an undisclosed cancer but that he intended to remain CEO into 2012, health permitting. Benmosche said in a statement his doctors believed he could continue working for 12 to 18 months. Get the full story »

Longtime nonprofit exec to head Family Focus

Merri Ex, a veteran nonprofit leader and fundraiser, has been named chief executive of Family Focus, a community organization that offers parenting classes and other assistance to families. Get the full story »

Ex-Tribune CEO Michaels lists Streeterville condo

Elite Street | By Bob Goldsborough | Former Tribune Co. Chief Executive Randy Michaels  has listed his 31st-floor, penthouse condominium  unit in Streeterville  for $989,000.

Tribune Co. Chairman Sam Zell  named Michaels, whose real name is Benjamin Homel,  to the company’s executive team in December 2007 and promoted him to CEO in late 2009.  Michaels resigned under pressure in October,  after weeks of escalating allegations that he and some associates that he had recruited had tarnished the company with boorish, sexist behavior.  Get the full story »

Shares dip as CVS speeds CEO succession

CVS Caremark Corp. said Monday that Larry Merlo will take the reins as the drugstore chain operator’s chief executive in March, two months earlier than expected.

Merlo, who is CVS’ chief operating officer, will become CEO March 1, replacing Thomas Ryan. He had been expected to become CEO in May, according to a succession plan laid out last year. The company did not explain why Merlo’s start date had been moved up. Get the full story »

Outgoing Google CEO to take $335M with him

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, who is stepping down in April, is planning to sell 534,000 shares in the company over the next year in a cash-out move that could be worth about $335 million.

Schmidt has been CEO at Google for the last decade. But in April he’ll be replaced by Larry Page, the company’s co-founder.

Word of Schmidt’s plan to sell a portion of his holdings in the Web search giant came in a regulatory filing alongside Google’s fourth-quarter earnings report, both submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

4 HP directors step down amid Hurd controversy

Four members of Hewlett-Packard’s board of directors are stepping down six months after CEO Mark Hurd was forced to resign in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal.

The departures come as Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s biggest technology company by revenue, is under fire for its handling of Hurd’s ouster and the size of his severance payout.

Google reports strong earnings, new CEO

Google Inc. said Thursday that co-founder Larry Page will take charge of day-to-day operations as chief executive starting April 4.

Current CEO Eric Schmidt will become executive chairman. Get the full story »

Tortas Frontera opens at O’Hare

Crain’s Chicago Business | Chef Rick Bayless has opened his Frontera sandwich shop at O’Hare; a second Frontera offshoot is coming there soon.

Former chairman of Jenner & Block dies

Jerold Solovy, a distinguished Chicago trial lawyer and former chairman Jenner & Block, has died. He was 80 years old.

Solovy started practicing law at Jenner & Block in 1955 after graduating from Harvard Law School. Throughout his career, he balanced a commitment to public interest work with a practice for paying clients. Get the full story »

Sears picks supermarket veteran as grocery chief

Sears Holdings Corp. has named Robin Michel, formerly president of Giant Foods, as the retailer’s new grocery and pharmacy chief.

Michel, a veteran supermarket executive, joins the operator of Sears and Kmart stores at a time when mass merchandise chains are moving more aggressively into the food business. Get the full story »

WGN Radio hires new program director

Tower Ticker | Bill White, operations director of WBT-AM and FM and WLNK-FM in Charlotte N.C., has been named the new program director at Chicago’s WGN-AM 720, effective Valentine’s Day.

The job at Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.’s radio station has been officially vacant since the exit of Kevin Metheny in November with Tom Langmyer, WGN-AM’s vice president and general manager, handling the programming responsibilities since then.

Deere CEO pay nearly triples in fiscal 2010

Deere & Co. said Friday that Chairman and Chief Executive Samuel Allen’s compensation for the company’s 2010 fiscal year almost tripled from the previous year.

Allen’s base salary, incentive pay, executive perks and awards of stock and options totaled $12.29 million for the year ended Oct. 31, up from $4.27 million a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Get the full story »

Cobra Electronics CFO resigning

Cobra Electronics Corp., maker of CB radios and radar detectors, said its chief financial officer Michael Smith is resigning effective Jan. 31. Get the full story »