David Taylor, former Chief Executive Officer
Procter & Gamble Co.
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Clayton is joining Dubilier & Rice LLC as a senior operations advisor, officials at the private-equity firm said.
Mr. Taylor stepped down as CEO of the consumer-products company last November after a career spanning more than 40 years, but remains executive chairman. He will hand that role to his successor as CEO, John Moller, before starting CD&R on July 1.
Based in New York, CD&R has long employed a model of connecting investment professionals with experts from run companies — known as operating partners or advisors — to buy businesses and their performance. To try to make better.
Mr Taylor will join a roster of top executives who have moved from US companies to the private-equity firm, including John Compton, a former executive.
PepsiCo Inc.
chairman, and Sandra Peterson, previously the worldwide president of the group.
Operating Partners has been known to step in and lead portfolio companies on an interim basis, such as the recent stint by Mr. Compton at the helm of CD&R-owned pet-products maker, Radio Systems Corp.
CD&R, which manages about $57 billion, is trying to raise at least $20 billion As for its next fund, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
The firm was founded in 1978 by Joseph Rice, Martin Dubilier and Eugene Clayton. Mr. Rice came from investment banking, while M/s Dubilier and Clayton worked as corporate executives and management consultants. According to the firm, the trio determined that finding a way to blend their collective skills was more important than financial engineering to achieve sustainable performance in the buyout business.
CD&R chief executive Nate Sleeper said that today the firm gets more than 80% returns from operational improvements in its portfolio companies, the remainder from adjusting capital structures and other factors.
Mr. Taylor, 64, during his tenure at P&G, held leadership roles in operations and marketing, managing manufacturing sites and leading various consumer brands in North America, Europe and Asia.
He took over as CEO in 2015, when P&G was struggling to expand in the years following the recession. Sales initially slowed even further, leading to a proxy fight with active investor Nelson Peltz, who briefly held a seat on the company’s board.
Mr Taylor doubled down on P&G’s giant brands, including Tide and Gillette, ignoring those who said the company should reduce its reliance on them and invest in e-commerce startups. His strategy worked, especially during the pandemic, when consumers flocked to the most famous names.
Mr Taylor said he had not initially considered a move to private equity, but was won over by the CD&R model.
“It’s focus on operational excellence and the values they placed on someone with my background surprised me a little bit,” he said. “That’s the power of diverse thinking, and they understand it.”
write to Miriam Gottfried et mariam.gotfried@wsj.com
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