Howard Hughes Holdings announced the appointment of Thom Lachman and Susan Panuccio as independent Directors of the Company. Mr. Lachman is the Chairman and CEO of Duracell, a Berkshire Hathaway company. Duracell is the leading global disposable battery brand in the world with a presence in over 90 countries.
Mr. Lachman joined Duracell in 2016 as the North America President and leader of the transition team after Duracell was purchased from Procter and Gamble. He was promoted to Chairman and CEO in 2018. Prior to joining Berkshire Hathaway, Mr. Lachman worked for Procter and Gamble for 33 years on some of the most well-known and valuable global packaged good brands including Gillette, Tide, Old Spice, Pampers, and Cover Girl.
Mr. Lachman earned a BS in Chemical Engineering as well as an MBA from Tulane University. Ms. Panuccio started her professional career with KPMG and held finance roles at Ansett Australia and AngloGold Ashanti prior to joining News Corporation in 2002. At News Corporation, Ms. Panuccio held a variety of strategic, operational and finance roles in the UK and Australia.
She became CFO of News UK in 2008 and CFO of News Corp. Australia in 2013, serving on the Board of Foxtel and the ASX listed REA. In 2017, she became CFO of News Corp.
During her tenure as CFO, she oversaw financial strategy during a transformative period marked by the company?s transition towards a digital and subscription led business, which delivered margin expansion, strong share price growth and shareholder returns. Ms. Panuccio earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Technology from Ballarat University. Mr. Lachman and Ms. Panuccio succeed Beth Kaplan and Steve Shepsman, who did not stand for re-election at the Company?s Annual Meeting.
