Kmart appoints CEO

Bankrupt discount retailer Kmart Corp. has named Julian Day, president, above, to the additional post of chief executive officer.

Day succeeds James Adamson, who will continue to serve as the company’s chairman through the final stages of Kmart’s reorganization. Adamson, who was hired to save the company from possible liquidation and ensure its survival amid a dire financial situation, will serve as a nonexecutive chairman.

Day played a key role in Kmart’s five-year business plan, approved by the company’s board last week, the company said. The company hopes to emerge from bankruptcy on or about April 30.

Adamson, a turnaround specialist, was brought in last March, when he replaced Chief Executive Officer Charles Conaway.

Day, 50, came aboard with Adamson in March, when he was named president and chief operating officer. Prior to joining Kmart, Day worked for Sears, Roebuck and Co., where he was chief financial officer and later served as chief operating officer.

Taxes: ‘Whistle-blower’ lawsuit settled by Walt Disney

Walt Disney Co. has settled a $20 million “whistle-blower” lawsuit brought by a former executive who says she was fired for refusing to help the company allegedly cheat the IRS.

The case, scheduled to go to trial Jan. 27, was settled late last week, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. The terms were not disclosed.

In her March 2001 suit, Judy Denenholz said she was wrongfully terminated after a series of clashes with the company’s chief lawyer over her refusal to sign off on Disney’s response to an IRS audit.

Denenholz, who was senior vice president of the company’s worldwide anti-piracy division, claimed that Disney had substantially understated what it owed the IRS.

Disney officials said her allegations were baseless.