Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> November 28, 2000
R. DAVID HOOVER is Vice Chairman, President, and Chief Operating Officer
of Ball Corporation. Mr. Hoover joined Ball Corporation in 1970 as
Assistant to the Treasurer. He later served in planning and development
and credit functions. In 1976, he was promoted to director of credit and
cash management. He relocated to Colorado in 1980 and became Director
and later Vice President, Finance and Administration, of the company's
agricultural systems division. In 1985, he was named Vice President,
Finance and Administration, of the company's aerospace systems group. He
returned to the former Muncie, Indiana, corporate headquarters in 1987
as Assistant Treasurer and was elected Vice President and Treasurer in
1988, and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 1992. He
was named Executive Vice President in April 1996, and elected to the
company's Board of Directors in October 1996. In January 1998 he was
elected Vice Chairman and given strategic responsibility for Ball's
aerospace subsidiary, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in addition
to the role of Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Hoover was elected President
of Ball Corporation on January 1, 2000, with the company's packaging
operations reporting to him. He was named Chief Operating Officer in
April 2000. Prior to his career with Ball, Mr. Hoover was a Corporate
Financial Analyst for Eli Lilly & Co., Indianapolis. Mr. Hoover serves
on the Boards of Datum, Inc., Maxon Corporation, ANB Corporation, and
Energizer Holdings, Inc. He is also a member of the Boulder Chamber of
Commerce and the Boulder Community Foundation. Mr. Hoover received a
Bachelor's degree in Economics from DePauw University, Greencastle,
Indiana, in 1967. He was awarded an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from
Indiana University in 1970, and completed the Advanced Management
Program of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business in 1988. Profile
LEON A. MIDGETT is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer,
Packaging. He is responsible for Ball's domestic and international
packaging business. Mr. Midgett started his career with Ball in 1972 as
Plant Controller for the metal beverage container plant in Findlay,
Ohio. In 1974, he was promoted to Administrative Manager for the plant,
and was transferred in 1975 to the Fairfield, California, plant in the
same capacity. Mr. Midgett was promoted to Manager, manufacturing
services, in 1978, and moved to Ball's Colorado Office Center in
Westminster, Colorado. He was promoted to Director of manufacturing
services in 1979. In 1990, Mr. Midgett was promoted to Vice President,
manufacturing, and in November 1995, was named President of North
American Beer/Beverage. Effective January 1, 2000, he assumed the
additional responsibilities of COO, packaging. He was named to his
current position in April 2000. Mr. Midgett received his Bachelor's
degree in Business from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, in
1965. Profile
Mr. Hoover: Our company was actually founded in 1880, 120 years ago, in
Buffalo, New York. It was founded by five brothers
