Johnson County executive tapped as CEO of KTEC

A former Sprint executive will become the new president and CEO of the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp., the nonprofit group announced Tuesday.

Tracy Taylor, former vice president of administration for Westwood-based Sprint, will assume the top position of the state-created group, which works to foster high-tech business development in Kansas.

“I’m passionate about the KTEC mission of creating jobs and wealth in Kansas through technology commercialization and support of the entrepreneurial process,” Taylor said.

Taylor replaces Rich Bendis, who left KTEC in early 2001 to head a similar organization in Philadelphia.

In addition to his work at Sprint, Taylor is a former board member of KTEC and the Enterprise Center of Johnson County, a KTEC-supported group. He’s also worked at both Cohen-Esrey Real Estate and Townsend Capital in the Kansas City area. He received his master’s of business administration from Kansas University.

Oil industry: Conoco, Phillips merger wins shareholders vote

Shareholders of Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Co. overwhelmingly approved a proposed $15.6 billion merger on Tuesday, moving the companies one step closer to creating the nation’s third-largest oil corporation.

Stockholders of both companies approved the merger by a 96 percent majority.

The votes came a week after the European Union signed off on the merger. Canada also has approved it, leaving the U.S. Federal Trade Commission as the last hurdle.

The merger would move Phillips headquarters from Bartlesville, Okla. to Houston.

Grocery: Kroger earnings fall

Kroger Co., the parent company of Dillon Stores, reported a 5 percent drop in quarterly earnings, hurt by restructuring costs and competition from discounters like Wal-Mart that have entered the food business.

The company, though, affirmed its goal of annual earnings growth of up to 12 percent through 2003. The Cincinnati-based company, which operates more than 2,400 supermarkets, said it expected a U.S. economic recovery, plus reinvestments from a cost-savings drive, to spur sales growth this year.

Kroger operates four Dillons stores in Lawrence.

Unemployment: Kansas jobless may receive extension of benefits

The Kansas Department of Human Resources said Tuesday up to 18,000 Kansas unemployed workers may receive an extension of unemployment benefits under the recently approved federal economic stimulus package.

KDHR Secretary Richard Beyer said his department will be sending notices within the next three weeks to Kansas workers telling them if they are eligible for the extension, which could give the jobless up to 13 extra weeks of unemployment benefits.

Telecommunication: SEC probes WorldCom Inc.

Shares of WorldCom Inc. fell sharply Tuesday after the telecommunications giant said the Securities and Exchange Commission requested documents regarding loans and financial practices.

In trading on the Nasdaq market, WorldCom shares fell $1.08, or 12 percent, to close at $7.93. WorldCom chief executive Bernie Ebbers, speaking at a Merrill Lynch investors’ conference Tuesday in New York, said the company’s accounting practices complied with all regulations.