Andersen chief to exit

February 13, 1997: 9:44 a.m. ET

Weinbach to leave consulting and accounting giant in August

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Management consulting and accounting firm Andersen Worldwide on Thursday announced that Managing Partner and Chief Executive Lawrence A. Weinbach will leave the company.
     Andersen said in a statement that Weinbach, who has served two four-year terms as the top executive, has decided not to stand for a third term.
     By announcing Weinbach's departure now, the company will have until his current term expires in August to find a replacement. The company did not mention the names of any potential candidates for the position.
     Weinbach, 57, joined the firm 36 years ago and has served as chief executive since 1989. He is credited with taking the company from $2.8 billion in annual revenue in 1988 to a projected $11 billion in 1997. He expanded operations globally through the Arthur Andersen accounting unit and the Andersen Consulting management and technology consulting unit.
     But the very growth he helped engineer has raised questions about the company's direction and whether it should separate its core accounting and consulting units into separate companies.
     "After a series of partners' meetings throughout the world at the end of 1996," Weinbach said in the statement, "our partners appear committed to resolving open issues to the firm's governance and to maintaining our organizational structure even as we adapt to changing business conditions."
     Weinbach did not disclose his plans for the future.
     "It's been my life's ambition to have more than one career," he said. "I leave Andersen with a great feeling of satisfaction and look forward to new opportunities."