PERSONNEL: Changes of the Week, may 18, 1959

¶ Walter F. Munford, 58, executive vice president for engineering of United States Steel Corp., was elected president (under Chairman Roger Blough), succeeding Clifford Hood, who retired. Massachusetts-born Munford went to work as a die reamer in 1919 at U.S. Steel's Worcester plant to pay his tuition at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. After graduating from M.I.T. ('23), he went back to the Worcester plant, rose through managerial posts to president of the wire division in 1953, assistant executive vice president of the corporation in 1956, executive vice president in 1958.

¶ Joan Crawford Steele, 51, cinemactress (Rain, Mildred Pierce) and widow of Alfred Steele, board chairman of Pepsi-Cola Co., was elected a director to fill the board vacancy made by her husband's death. Miss Crawford said she planned to be "a working member of the board, to carry on where we left off and keep the company growing," but will continue with movie and TV roles. During her four years of marriage to Steele, she traveled 125,000 miles all over the world to help promote Pepsi-Cola. Her election was "no sentimental or emotional gesture," said President Herbert L. Barnet, 48, who was named chief executive officer. A New York-born lawyer, Barnet joined Pepsi-Cola in 1949 as a vice president after handling the company's legal affairs, became president in 1955.

¶ Harry B. Cunningham, 51, vice president of S.S. Kresge Co., was elected president, succeeding F. P. Williams, who retired. Cunningham went to work for the Lynchburg (Va.) Kresge store as a stock boy, rose through the executive ranks to sales manager in 1953, director in 1956, general vice president in 1957. Cunningham predicted sales of the giant variety chain, which were $384 million last year, would be well above $400 million in 1959.