Albert J. Dunlap
| Albert J. Dunlap | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Albert John Dunlap July 26, 1937 Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Other names | Chainsaw Al (Nickname) |
| Occupation | Retired Corporate Executive |
Albert John Dunlap (born July 26, 1937) is a disgraced former corporate executive. He was best known as a turnaround specialist and professional downsizer, although it was later discovered that his reputed turnarounds were elaborate frauds. The ruthless methods he employed to streamline failing companies, most notably Scott Paper, won him the nicknames "Chainsaw Al" and "Rambo in Pinstripes". However, his career was effectively ended after he engineered a massive accounting scandal at Sunbeam Products, now Sunbeam-Oster, that ultimately cost that company its independence. He is barred from serving as an officer of a publicly traded corporation. His widespread layoffs and accounting frauds have put him on several lists of worst CEOs.
Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, Dunlap graduated from West Point before being employed by Lily Tulip Cup and Scott Paper.
He engineered a massive accounting fraud at Nitec, a paper-mill company in Niagara Falls, New York. He was the company's president from 1974 to 1976, when he was fired due to his abrasive management style. An audit by Arthur Young (now part of Ernst & Young) revealed numerous irregularities, including inflated inventory and nonexistent sales: circumstances similar to the later Sunbeam case. The final result was that Nitec's $5 million profit for 1976 was actually a $5.5 million loss. Nitec sued Dunlap for fraud, but was ultimately forced out of business. However, Dunlap never mentioned Nitec on his resume, and these scandals were not widely known until reported by the New York Times after the scandals at Sunbeam.
Dunlap mentored James Packer for three years in the late 1980s.
Dunlap was CEO of Scott Paper in the 1990s. He sold Scott Paper to Kimberly-Clark in 1995 for $7.8 billion and walked away with a $100 million golden parachute.
He took over as chairman and CEO of Sunbeam in 1996. His methods resulted in Sunbeam's reporting record earnings of $189 million in 1997. However, he was unable to find a buyer by 1998. Dunlap then decided to buy controlling interest in camping gear maker Coleman, coffee machine maker Signature Brands (best known for making Mr. Coffee) and smoke detector maker First Alert. Within two days, Sunbeam's stock jumped to an all-time high of $52 per share.
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