product scope. He began his career in 1970 as a field service engineer with GE Lighting and assumed his current position in 2003. He also serves as chairman of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s Board of Governors and is a member of the board of the National Association of Manufacturers.
R.L. “Bob” Wood, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & President, Crompton Corp., Age: 50, Wood took the helm at Crompton in January 2004 and became the first African American CEO of a major U.S. chemical firm. With annual sales of $2.2 billion, Crompton is a leading producer of polymers, polymer additives, and polymer processing equipment. It is also one of the world’s largest specialty chemical companies. Prior to joining Crompton, Wood served as business group president for Dow Automotive, a $5.5 billion business that produced polyurethane and other chemicals. In 1997, he was named business vice president of polyurethane production at Crompton, a post that awarded him global management responsibility for the multibillion-dollar business. He serves on the boards of Jarden Corp. and Praxair Inc.
Quincy L. Allen, President, Production Systems Group Xerox Corp., Age: 44, Driving productivity and putting clients first have been the hallmark of Allen’s career that began at Xerox in 1982, when he joined the company as an electr
ical engineer. In 1999, he was appointed vice president of worldwide customer services strategy. And in 2001, he became senior vice president of North American Services and Solutions. Allen was named to his current position in October 2004 and is responsible for the company’s high-end systems software. He is also responsible for service offerings to the graphic communications industry, including production publishing, transaction printing, and enterprise-wide printing-a $4.5 billion business for the company. Allen also manages the worldwide development and marketing of color and monochrome systems.
Paget L. Alves, President, Sprint Business Solutions, Sprint Corp., Age: 47, Alves is responsible for the SBS strategic segment, which concentrates on Sprint’s 100 largest business customers, systems integrators, international customers, access and wholesale carriers, and cable ventures. Between 1996 and 2000, Alves held several senior management positions with Sprint. He served as president of sales and support for the Business Services Group, where he was responsible for all business and government customers of Sprint’s long- distance division. He left Sprint briefly in June 2000 to become president and chief executive officer of PointOne Telecommunications, an Internet-telephony services provider located in Austin, Texas. Alves assumed his current position in November 2003. He also appeared on BE’s 2000 list of The Top 50 Blacks in Corporate America.
Brian P. Anderson, Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President of Finance, OfficeMax Inc., Age: 53, A corporate finance maven, Anderson has a key leadership role in the corporate strategies and execution of the $8.2 billion business. In 2003, Boise Cascade purchased OfficeMax supply superstores. Then in October 2004, the company sold off $3.7 billion worth of its paper, forest products, and timberlands assets, creating a new company called OfficeMax Inc. Prior to joining the company, Anderson was senior vice