Trading Partners

Los Angeles – Peter J. Nolan, 55, one of three managing partners of private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, is leaving his post. Leonard Green holds investment stakes in major retail chains including J. Crew, Petco, The Container Store, and Topshop/Topman.

Nolan will serve as a senior advisor to Leonard Green and also serve as a board member of several companies in its portfolio. He is leaving to devote more time to philanthropic activities.

New Albany, Ohio - Bob Evans Farms Inc. has appointed Kevin M. Sheehan, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, Kathy S. Lane, former CIO of TJX Companies Inc., and Larry S. McWilliams, co-CEO of Compass Marketing, to its board of directors. E. Gordon Gee, 70, is stepping down from the board effective immediately, following his acceptance in March of the permanent position of president of the West Virginia University.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. - Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. opens its newest Florida Sears Home Appliance Showroom on April 25, in Sunrise. The Sunrise location is one of six Sears Home Appliance Showrooms Michael Myers owns and operates.

Seattle – Amazon.com is reportedly piloting an in-house delivery service that would use trucks driven by Amazon-hired contractors to deliver packages from area distribution centers to customer homes. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com is testing the service in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.

The service could potentially reduce shipping times and costs and also enable same-day shipping. It is also seen as a direct competitive move against UPS, as well as Wal-Mart, EBay and Google.

Kellogg Company's board of directors has elected president and CEO John A. Bryant as chairman, effective July 1. Current Chairman James M. Jenness will remain on the board as a non-executive director.

Bryant has been a member of the company's board of directors since July 2010. He has been president and CEO since January 2011. Bryant joined Kellogg in 1998. Prior to becoming CEO, he held a variety of key senior leadership roles including CFO, president of Kellogg North America, president of Kellogg International and COO.

Hong Kong -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is changing the management structure of its Asia operation with a series of promotions. Scott Price, currently president and CEO of Walmart Asia, will move to a senior management role as executive VP, international strategy and development, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, integration and purchase leverage, based at Wal-Mart's world headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Washington, D.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a former executive with insider trading in advance of EBay’s acquisition of the e-commerce company GSI Commerce where he worked, by tipping friends and relatives with confidential information about the pending deal so they could attain more than $300,000 in illegal profits.

Whirlpool Corporation reaffirmed its full-year guidance following first quarter results.

Net sales in the quarter were $4.4 billion compared to $4.2 billion during the same prior-year period. Excluding the impact of foreign currency in addition to Brazilian (BEFIEX) tax credits, sales increased approximately 6%.