Reebok Int'l "is expected to name" former Sony Corp.
exec CARL YANKOWSKI to run its flagship brand, "a job widely
viewed as the No. 2 post" at the company, according to
Lublin & Pereira of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The hiring
"could be announced as early as today," and Lublin & Pereira
reports that if successful in that position, Yankowski
"would be in line eventually to succeed" Reebok Founder PAUL
FIREMAN as the company's CEO. But it remains unclear
whether Fireman "will give up the reins any time soon. He
is viewed inside Reebok as reluctant to give up the top post
until the company regains some momentum." PAUL DUNCAN, a
Reebok Dir and former CFO, said Yankowski "will clearly be
viewed as the No. 2." Yankowski would succeed ROBERT MEERS,
who stepped down as President & CEO of the Reebok brand in
May. Yankowski, who is expected to recruit "several of his
former Sony" colleagues to join him at Reebok, will receive
a salary of about $750,000, a "hefty signing bonus and more
than" 500,000 stock options (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/27).
