Joseph F. Berardino is taking the helm as the firm's CEO.

Effective immediately, Joseph F. Berardino is taking on the four-year-term, replacing interim managing partner Louis P. Salvatore, the firm stated. Berardino, 50, will also serve as managing partner-chief executive of Andersen Worldwide, the legal parent of Arthur Andersen.

Berardino, who joined the firm in 1972 and was admitted to the partnership in 1982, is taking over the firm on the heels of its divorce from Andersen Consulting, which became Accenture on Jan. 1.

Salvatore has been serving as interim worldwide managing partner since August, when an arbitrator split up the two entities, forcing Andersen Consulting to change its name. Shortly after the arbitrator's ruling was announced, Jim Wadia, the worldwide managing partner for Arthur Andersen, stepped down after three years on the job.

Berardino is presently a member of the firm's board of partners, the executive council for the U.S. practice and the leadership council for the Metro New York practice. Berardino also played a role in negotiating a recent settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the controversial auditor independence rule.

Arthur Andersen, along with Deloitte & Touche, KPMG and the American Institute of CPAs, opposed the SEC's original proposal, which opponents believed would decay audit quality and prevent firms from attracting talent.

After a heated 75-day comment period, the SEC unanimously approved a watered-down version of the original proposal in November. The adopted rule, which Arthur Andersen considered a "significant improvement," curbs but doesn't bar consulting.

In addition, Berardino has created a five-person global executive team, including the CEO, to meet company goals.

Arthur Andersen, which recently reported revenues of $8.4 billion, up 15.4 percent from 1999, has more than 77,000 people in 84 countries, the firm stated.

-- By Antoinette Alexander

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