Jim Lee | Target
U.S. retailer Target appointed Jim Lee as its new finance chief, effective Sept. 22. Lee has spent more than 25 years working at beverage giant PepsiCo, most recently as deputy finance chief. Before that, he was senior vice president of finance for PepsiCo Beverages North America. He was previously chief strategy and transformation officer of PepsiCo Beverages North America, leading transformation for PepsiCo’s largest sector. Lee succeeds Michael Fiddelke, Target’s chief operating officer. Fiddelke was appointed COO earlier this year after working as its CFO since 2019. He has remained its chief financial officer while Target searched for a successor.
Christina Van Tassell | Wiley
Wiley’s CFO Christina Van Tassell will leave the academic publisher on Oct. 1. Van Tassell, Wiley’s CFO since 2021, joined from Dow Jones where she held the same role. Before that, Van Tassell held CFO roles at Xaxis and Centurion Holdings. Christopher Caridi, corporate controller and chief accounting officer, will take over the additional role of interim CFO, effective Sept. 18. Caridi joined the company in 2017 from Thomson Reuters, where he held several executive roles, including as controller and global head of accounting operations and vice president of finance with global process ownership in FP&A.
Keith Walsh | AIG
Keith Walsh will take over as chief financial officer of AIG on Oct. 21. Walsh joins the global insurance organization from Marsh McLennan, where he has worked for the last seven years as chief financial officer of Marsh. Before that, he was vice president and head of investor relations for Marsh McLennan Companies. Walsh earlier spent 14 years as an equity research analyst at Citi where he covered the insurance sector. Walsh succeeds Sabra Purtill, who has been CFO since January 2023. Purtill will continue to work on strategic projects and act as an advisor to Walsh to help with the transition.
Jeremy Whitaker | Lantronix
Jeremy Whitaker is stepping down as CFO of Lantronix, a provider of software as a service, connectivity and engineering services for the internet of things (IoT). Whitaker, who had been finance chief since 2011, resigned on Sept. 13 to accept the same post at IoT enabler companyTelit Cinterion. The company’s controller, Brent Stringham, has been appointed interim CFO while the company searches for its next CFO. Before joining Lantronix in 2012, he held financial leadership positions at Iteris, Netlist and Ernst & Young.
Dan Hurwitz | Smalls Sliders
Cheeseburger sliders franchise Smalls Sliders hired Dan Hurwitz as its new finance chief. Hurwitz most recently was chief financial officer of coffeehouse chain Philz Coffee. Before that, he was vice president of global FP&A and investor relations at video game retailer Gamestop. Earlier roles include vice president of finance at consumer goods company Kids2, vice president of FP&A of home furnishings company Restoration Hardware and senior manager of FP&A and investor relations at clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch.
Mirlanda Gecaj | Xerox
Mirlanda Gecaj, vice president and chief accounting officer at Xerox, will take over as finance chief on Feb. 1, 2025. Gecaj joined the company in 2022 from specialty chemicals company Element Solutions, where she was vice president of shared services. She earlier spent more than 14 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she was a senior manager of assurance. Gecaj succeeds Xavier Heiss, who is retiring. Heiss has been the company’s chief financial officer since 2021.
Jack Griffin | Mediacom Communications
Cable operator Mediacom Communications promoted Jack Griffin to finance chief, effective Oct. 15. Griffin joined Mediacom in 2007 and was most recently senior vice president of finance and treasurer. Griffin succeeds Mark Stephan, who is retiring after 28 years at Mediacom. Stephan will remain with the company through Oct. 15th and continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors.
Anita Gogia | Dr. Praeger’s
Anita Gogia was appointed chief financial officer of Dr. Praeger’s, an all-natural, frozen foods company. Before Dr. Praeger’s, Gogia was senior vice president of FP&A at Imperial Dade, where she spent over five years. She earlier held various finance leadership roles during her almost 30-year tenure at consumer packaged goods companies, such as Kraft Foods, PepsiCo and Pinnacle Foods (acquired by Conagra Brands).
