When you produce around three quarters of everything the world touches, you need to move at a slow and steady pace when it comes to making any changes. Such is the case with the big announcement that Procter & Gamble's head of design, Claudia Kotchka, will be retiring around a year from now, to be replaced by Philip Duncan, who is coming to take over after he leaves Landor and Associates. So see? Things have to move a little carefully, so as to not startle the things in your medicine cabinet, you cupboards and probably everything you've eaten all day. Here's a bit:

Kotchka, vice president - design, innovation and strategy, will retire March 31, 2009, the company said in a news release. From Aug. 1 until her retirement date, she will serve as a vice president on special assignment, reporting to Chairman and CEO A.G. Lafley. Kotchka has been with Cincinnati-based P&G for more than 31 years.

"Under Claudia's leadership, in only seven years, we've built world-class design capability at P&G," Lafley said in the release. "She helped integrate design and design thinking into how we innovate and how we operate as a company."

Thanks much to reader Joe Moran for the tip.