Judge Approves Hiring Of Lyondell CFO

A judge approved the appointment of Kent Potter as CFO of bankrupt petrochemicals company Lyondell Chemical Co. The company said in July it had chosen Potter to succeed former CFO Alan Bigman. ABN AMRO Bank had opposed the choice of Potter, once CFO for Chevron Phillips Chemical, because he had helped oversee those responsible for Lyondell's financial management in the year before the company's bankruptcy. ABN instead proposed Potter be employed for six months and asked that his duties exclude involvement with the company's restructuring process. But Judge Robert Gerber of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York said in a court hearing that he approved the hiring and did not impose any special conditions.