Changes of the Week

P: William K. Whiteford, 56, president of Gulf Oil Corp., officially becomes chief executive officer with the retirement of Sidney A. Swensrud, 56, as chairman of the board, a post that will be discontinued. Burly, aggressive Bill Whiteford, who started as an oilfield roughneck out of Stanford University, was brought into Gulf in 1951 from the presidency of Canada's British American Oil Co., Ltd., made chief administrative officer in 1953 under Swensrud, who moved up from president to board chairman. Whiteford shook up Gulf's management, strengthened its domestic and Western Hemisphere holdings, firmly but unofficially took over much of the executive authority. With his major duties whittled away, Swensrud gracefully bowed out, "to have more time available for other interests," announced that he was leaving Gulf "in the strongest position it has ever been in." In the first nine months of 1956 record earnings of $206 million were 42% more than the same period in 1955.

P: Rupert Campbell Thompson Jr., 51, chairman of the executive committee of Textron, Inc., was elected president, will continue as chief administrative officer in charge of Textron's non-textile operations, which have grown to 13 divisions, now account for 75% of all sales since Textron began its rapid diversification program. Thompson will be right-hand man to Royal Little, 61, peppery chairman of the board, who has run a growing empire almost singlehanded since Textron Inc. merged with American Woolen Co. and Robbins Mills, Inc. in 1955. Last March Little hired onetime Textron Director Thompson, a personal friend and executive vice president of Providence's Industrial National Bank, groomed him carefully to share the burden. Thompson's incentive: a "challenge to show that a banker can make a good corporate executive," plus a $75,000 salary, 1% of the company's net earnings (up to his base salary), and a stock option for 50,000 shares at $25 each (current price: $15).

P: Morgan J. Davis, 58, executive vice president of Humble Oil & Refining Co., biggest U.S. domestic producer (300,000 bbl. daily), will succeed President Hines H. Baker, 63. Baker retires as president and director next month, will become a director of Humble's parent company, Standard Oil Co. (N.J.). The first geologist to occupy Humble's presidency, strapping (6 ft. 2 in., 190 lbs.) Morgan Davis joined Humble in 1925 after graduating from the University of Texas, left to become resident geologist in Sumatra for a Dutch petroleum firm, returned to Humble in 1934 as district geologist for New Mexico, rose steadily to become executive vice president last year.

P: John W. Field, 42, treasurer of Warner Brothers Co., famed foundation-garment manufacturer (1956 sales: more than $36 million), was named president, succeeding his father John Field, 70, who will become chairman of the board. After graduating from Yale ('37), Field tried his hand at journalism, became national affairs editor of LIFE. In 1946 he yielded to family pleadings, returned to Warner's.

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