Weyerhaeuser Taps President,
Sets Up Succession Scenario

Weyerhaeuser Co. named real-estate chief Daniel Fulton president, setting up a likely succession scenario as the forest-products company copes with housing-market woes.

Chief Executive Officer Steven Rogel, who recently turned 65, was expected to step down about now after having served 10 years at the helm of the Federal Way, Wash., company. But he agreed with the board's request several months ago to stay on up to two more years, as the company makes its way through a downturn in its wood-products and real-estate businesses that was brought on by the two-year-old housing malaise in the U.S.

Until now, Weyerhaeuser hadn't laid out a plan for Mr. Rogel's successor. But in naming the 59-year-old Mr. Fulton as president, the board put him on an inside track to take full control of the company after Mr. Rogel steps down, company observers said.

Under the new setup, most of Weyerhaeuser's senior management team will report to Mr. Fulton, who retains his previous title as president of the company's Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Co. subsidiary. Of the senior staff, only Mr. Fulton and two other executives, the chief financial officer and the general counsel, will report to Mr. Rogel, who previously was president as well as chairman and CEO.

Mr. Rogel declined to comment on whether Mr. Fulton is his heir apparent, but said in an interview: "We have a deep bench of leadership talent the board can draw upon, and Dan is going to play an important role of that in the future."

Mr. Fulton, who joined Weyerhaeuser in 1975, said his main challenge will be supporting Mr. Rogel and the board over the next year in overseeing strategic steps, which this year have included spinning off a paper unit and divesting itself of some offshore operations.

The move comes as Weyerhaeuser continues to struggle amid the housing slump. The blow to Weyerhaeuser has been cushioned somewhat, because it also has containerboard and pulp businesses that have been holding up comparatively well. But analysts say the company's performance still has suffered because of a heavy exposure to the housing market, including as a major builder itself.

Mr. Rogel said he looks for 2008 to be another "challenging year" for housing because of build-ups of unsold homes in once-robust markets like Las Vegas and Southern California where Weyerhaeuser builds homes. But he said, long term "we remain bullish on the housing market," because of favorable demographics and other trends.

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