Procter & Gamble recalls former chief executive A.G. Lafley back to his post

Consumer goods group Procter & Gamble has brought back A.G. Lafley to run the world's largest household products maker, replacing Bob McDonald immediately in the midst of a major restructuring.

Lafley took on the roles of chairman, president and chief executive, on Thursday, while McDonald is set to retire on June 30 after 33 years at P&G.

The move comes as some investors have pushed for faster improvements from the maker of Tide detergent and Gillette razors. P&G unveiled a US$10 billion restructuring programme in February 2012. Since then, it has cut thousands of jobs and taken other steps to speed up its operations, improve its success with new products and do a better job in both fast-growing emerging markets and in larger, developed markets such as the United States.

"Bob retired, the board called me and I felt like duty called. I'm back to help maintain the business momentum and keep this productivity programme going," Lafley said. There was no single reason for McDonald's retirement, Lafley said. "I think it's a number of personal reasons."

McDonald, who had been Lafley's hand-picked successor, was not made available for an interview.

While the suddenness of the change was a shock, the move to bring back Lafley was not, said Matt McCormick, a portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel in Cincinnati.