How long will P&G chief keep job?

CINCINNATI — While many jittery investors consider Procter & Gamble Co. a safe haven in the economic storm, a big question hanging over the world's largest consumer products maker, which is building a plant in Box Elder County, is how much longer Chief Executive A.G. Lafley will stay at the helm.

Lafley, who was named CEO more than eight years ago as P&G's earnings and stock were sliding, has helped the maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers become a steady producer of profits and sales growth by emphasizing innovation and a "consumer is boss" focus.

He has repeatedly insisted he has no plans to step down anytime soon. However, he turns 62 in June, and analysts and investors are speculating about and scrutinizing changes in P&G's upper management over the last two years.

"We have to be like Florida's football team," Lafley told analysts at a Dec. 11 meeting in New York. "We just have to be strong and deep."

P&G officials have said the board has a succession plan but refuse to discuss any names or details. And questions from investors who like certainty have grown.

Analysts note that finding the right successor to a well-regarded leader can be a difficult process. They doubt that the company's board, which Lafley chairs, would go outside the company for a replacement.

"The CEO of P&G is arguably the most important person in consumer goods manufacturing in the world," said Ali Dibadj, a senior analyst for New York-based Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. P&G is a well-known company with widely held stock, and boasts 23 household brands with more than $1 billion each in annual sales, including Tide, Pampers and Gillette shavers.

The company in May broke ground on a plant in Box Elder County that will manufacture Bounty paper towels and Charmin toilet paper. The facility is slated to begin operation in the second quarter of 2010 and will initially employ 300 people.

Lafley, who last year co-wrote a management book called "The Game-Changer," has said he's in good health, loves what he's doing and is excited about P&G's prospects for the future. He told the analysts in New York: "The rumors of my passing are greatly exaggerated."

Dibadj, who helped prepare an analysis last year of P&G's managers — in response to escalating questions from investors — concluded that indeed, P&G's "bench is deep" with capable potential chiefs.

He expects a long, orderly transition after Lafley does eventually announce his plans.