When Ross Johnson, flamboyant head of RJR Nabisco, lost his bid for control of the giant food and tobacco company in a $25 billion leveraged-buyout brawl last year, he also lost his job. Last week RJR's new owner, the buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, announced its surprise choice for Johnson's replacement: Louis Gerstner, 47, marketing maven and president of American Express.
Gerstner, who was widely expected to succeed American Express Chairman James Robinson, 53, has never run a tobacco business. But KKR partner Henry Kravis chose Gerstner for his prowess as a strategic planner. Among other accomplishments, Gerstner launched the successful...
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