On Top Again

In a curt and controversial departure, John L. Burns nearly four years ago was suddenly out as president of sprawling RCA, even though his contract for the $200,000-a-year job still had more than five years to run. Burns has never given a reason--and neither has RCA. In the succeeding months--and years--he got the customary offers from other companies anxious to hire a top-level manager, but turned them all down. "There are not," he said, "many jobs available on that level." Burns largely dropped out of sight; he became a private consultant to several companies, served as vice chairman for E. F. MacDonald Co. (Plaid Stamps).

Last week Burns made quite a comeback: he was named the $150,000-a-year chairman and chief executive of Cities Service Co., will at year's end take over when President and Chief Executive J. Ed. Warren retires. Burns's background in the oil business is scanty, but he has other attributes to offer: he holds a doctorate in metallurgy from Harvard, worked his way from laborer to wire-division head at Republic Steel, became a partner in the management consultant firm of Booz, Allen & Hamilton and an adviser to 30 blue-chip corporations before joining RCA.

Cities Service badly needs a manager. It has dropped from ninth to eleventh place as an oil and gas producer, six weeks ago changed its brand name to Citgo and its pumps from green and white to red, white and blue to stimulate sales. The company has diversified into copper mining and cable production, printing inks, fertilizers, and even real estate (a string of five Wall Street skyscrapers). It now gets about 60% of its $1.17 billion operating income from non-oil sources. To handle this complex, the directors wanted someone with broad management background--and Burns seemed to fit the bill.

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