Vivendi Universal appointed Jacques Espinasse CFO and senior executive vice president as part of a management turnover that began with the ouster of Chairman and CEO Jean-Marie Messier. Messier transformed a French water company into $51.1 billion Vivendi, the world's third-largest media giant. Now Espinasse and Messier's successor, Jean-Rene Fourtou, have to cope with the $18 billion of debt that Messier accumulated when he built Vivendi, as well as the company's current cash shortfall. Espinasse has experience with troubled companies, having served as managing director of Bernard Tapie Finance, the holding company of French entrepreneur and politician Bernard Tapie, when it was in financial difficulty in the mid-1990s. Espinasse, 59, joins Vivendi from French satellite television network TPS, where he was chief operating officer. Earlier, he held senior positions at several French companies, including Renault and advertising firm Havas Group. Espinasse replaces Guillaume Hannezo, who'll stay for six months to advise Fourtou.

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Troubled telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks Inc. promoted its controller, Douglas Beatty, to CFO. Beatty replaces Terry Hungle, who left the $17.5 billion Canadian company in February after allegedly making improper trades in his retirement account. Beatty, 47, first joined Nortel in 1985 after spending six years with an investment company, Canadian Development Corp. He left in 1995 to become vice president of finance at Sprint Corp. and returned to Nortel in 1999 as controller.

Richard Bogan, a former Philip Morris Cos. executive, was named CFO and executive vice president of $8.6 billion R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, which is based in Winston-Salem, N.C. Bogan, 59, succeeds Kenneth Lapiejko, who retired after 25 years with R.J. Reynolds. Bogan most recently was president of northAmerican Logistics, a subsidiary of Sirva. Before that, he served as president and CFO of Unisource Worldwide Inc. and spent 20 years in senior management positions at Philip Morris.

CMS Energy Corp, a $9.6 billion energy company based in Dearborn, Mich., named Thomas Webb as CFO and executive vice president. Webb, 49, replaces Alan Wright, who left CMS to join a company outside the energy industry. Webb was CFO and executive vice president of Kellogg Co. from 2000 until January 2002 and served as CFO of Visteon Corp. from 1996 to 1999.

Robert Broatch was named CFO and executive vice president of $6.5 billion Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America, the fourth-largest U.S. mutual life insurance company, which is based in New York. Broatch, 53, succeeds Peter L. Hutchings, who retired at the end of 2001. Broach most recently was CFO at GAB Robins Group, a provider of loss adjustment and risk management services. Before that, he was CFO for UnumProvident and held senior positions with Aetna Inc., Primerica and Hartford Insurance Group.

Mark Jacobs was named CFO and executive vice president of both Reliant Energy Inc., a $42.22 billion energy company based in Houston, and Reliant Resources Inc., an energy supplier that Reliant Energy plans to spin off. Jacobs will resign from the Reliant Energy position once the spin-off occurs. In the Reliant Energy position, he succeeds Steve Naeve, who continues as vice chairman. Jacobs had been a managing director at Goldman Sachs Group.

Marsha Williams was named CFO and executive vice president of Equity Office Properties Trust, a $3.3 billion real estate investment trust based in Chicago. Williams, 51, succeeds Richard Kincaid, who was promoted to COO in October 2001. Before joining Equity Office, Williams was chief administrative officer for home furnishings chain Crate & Barrel for four years. Earlier, she worked for Amoco Corp. for nine years, and was its treasurer by the time she left.

Household International Inc., a $13.9 billion consumer finance company based in Prospect Heights, Ill., promoted Steven McDonald to chief accounting officer and senior vice president. Prior to his promotion, McDonald, 50, served as Household's corporate controller. Household's CFO, David Schoenholz, 51, was promoted to president and chief operating officer but will continue to handle the CFO functions.

Autodesk Inc., the $936 million manufacturer of drafting and digital content tools, appointed Alfred Castino as CFO and senior vice president. Castino, 50, joins the San Rafael, Calif.-based company from Virage Inc., where he was CFO. Earlier he served as CFO of PeopleSoft Inc. and controller of Chiron Corp. Castino succeeds Steve Cakebread, who left to become CFO of Salesforce.com

Jacques Tortoroli was appointed CFO of both Infinity Broadcasting, a $3.7 billion radio company based in New York, and Westwood One, a producer of radio programming that is managed by Infinity. He succeeds Farid Suleman, who left in February to join Forstmann Little & Co. Tortoroli, 44, most recently was CFO of Scient Inc. and earlier worked for Young & Rubicam Inc. and PepsiCo Inc.

Foster Wheeler Ltd., a $3.3 billion engineering and energy company based in Hamilton, Bermuda, hired Joseph Doyle as its CFO and senior vice president. Doyle, 55, most recently was CFO and executive vice president of U.S. Office Products, which filed for bankruptcy in 2001. Earlier, he served as a senior financial executive at Westinghouse Electric Corp. and as CFO of Allison Engine Co. Doyle replaces Gilles Renaud, who resigned in May.

Hayes Lemmerz International Inc., a $2 billion Michigan-based maker of automobile wheels that is currently in bankruptcy proceedings, appointed James Yost, a retired Ford Motor Co. executive, as CFO. Yost, 53, retired from Ford in 2001 after a 27-year career that included service as vice president of corporate strategy and executive director of corporate finance. Yost succeeds Kenneth Hiltz, a principal with turnaround firm AlixPartners, who was brought in last fall as CFO and chief restructuring officer, and will continue to serve as chief restructuring officer.