P.M. BRIEFING : Whitmore Elected CEO of Kodak

Eastman Kodak Co.’s directors today elected Kay R. Whitmore chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer, effective June 1.

As chairman and CEO, Whitmore succeeds Colby H. Chandler, who will retire on May 31. Whitmore retains the Kodak presidency, which he has held since 1983.

Chandler, 64, has been chairman and CEO of the company since 1983. He joined Kodak as an engineer in 1950, and in 1974 he was named general manager of the U.S. and Canadian Photographic Division and was elected to the board of directors and an executive vice-president. He became president in 1974.

Whitmore, 57, joined Kodak as an engineer in 1957. He held several top management positions in film manufacturing in Rochester and in the Latin-American region before being elected a vice president in 1978.