Karl D. Bays; Conglomerate Chairman

Karl D. Bays, 51, chairman of Whitman Corp., which owns Pet Inc., a specialty foods operation; Pepsi Cola General Bottlers; Hussmann Corp., a producer of refrigeration and environmental control systems, and Midas International, a franchised automotive service operation. Before his tenure at Chicago-based Whitman, formerly IC Industries, Bays served as chairman of the board at Baxter International Inc. He joined Baxter in 1985 after the merger of Baxter and American Hospital Supply Corp., which he had headed since 1971. During Bays’ tenure, American Hospital became the country’s biggest distributor of hospital supplies. At Whitman, Bays masterminded the sale of the 3,000-mile Illinois Central Railroad, which helped turn the company into a consumer goods and services conglomerate. In Lake Forest, Ill., on Monday of a heart attack.