In a further sign of the extreme pressures taking place in Chicago-area executive suites, Harry Kraemer, chairman and chief executive of Deerfield-based Baxter International Inc., said he is stepping aside.
Although he will retain his titles while the company seeks a successor, the 49-year-old Kraemer issued more than one mea culpa, saying, “Given the challenges the company has faced during the last year, I felt it was best for Baxter that I step down at this time.”
The company’s stock suffered a steep drop as Baxter has repeatedly ratcheted down its earnings expectations.
Kraemer joins other top executives of huge area companies that have given up the reins in recent months.
Among them are Betsy Holden, co-CEO of Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc., who lost her job in mid-December amid disappointing sales; Philip Condit of Chicago-based Boeing Co., who resigned Dec. 1 after a scandal over military aircraft leases; and Christopher Galvin of Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc., who said in September that he was retiring amid weak cell phone business.
For Kraemer, the profit problems at Baxter centered on key blood therapies. The industry has been hit by steep price drops as consolidation took place and new entrants jumped into the market.
Employee reductions and other cost-cutting steps have been unable to stem shrinking profit margins.
Watch for: the search for a successor to Kraemer to take place outside the company. Analysts say there is no clear line of underlings at Baxter in line for the job.
