Sapphire Energy, a San Diego start-up business that has raised nearly $350 million to develop algae as an alternative to crude oil, has announced that CEO Jason Pyle has stepped down and that it will name Cynthia Warner as its new chief executive officer.

Pyle, who also co-founded Sapphire, will remain on the board of directors. Warner currently serves as Sapphire’s president and board chairwoman. She joined the company after working with British Petroleum.

At BP, Warner worked as group vice president of global refining. She has extensive experience in the refining, energy, and transportation industries and is a member of the National Petroleum Council.

If your business needs help recruiting for executive positions, contact the executive search and management consulting professionals of Construction Hunters today by calling 214-989-6846.

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has recently promoted two of its existing executives into two newly created executive positions. The home improvement retailer created the the positions of chief customer officer and chief operating officer.

Gregory Bridgeford, 57, has been promoted from executive vice president of business development to chief customer officer. He will be in charge of Lowe’s customer service and its effort to differentiate itself from competitors.

Rick Damron, 49, has been promoted from executive vice president of store operations to chief operating officer. Damron will now be in charge of overseeing the company’s service, sales, and other store operations. The promotions will officially go into effect on March 5.

If your company is searching for new executives, contact the executive search and management consulting specialists at Construction Hunters at 214-989-6846.

PepsiCo may be in the process of looking for a new CEO after analysts suspect that current CEO Indra Nooyi will step down amid investor discontent.

The second-largest soda maker has rehired Brian Cornell, a former executive, as CEO of PepsiCo Americas Foods, which includes businesses Frito-Lay and Quaker. Cornell is the former CEO of Wal-Mart Stores’ Sam’s Club and Michael’s, as well as executive vice president of Safeway. Before leaving Pepsi in 2004, he was the president of its Tropicana brand.

Cornell is taking over the position of John Compton, who has been named president and will now go on to oversee Pepsi’s global operations and marketing.

If your business needs help recruiting for executive positions, contact the executive search and management consulting professionals of Construction Hunters today by calling 214-989-6846.