Chairman Resigns at Great Northern

Great Northern Nekoosa Corp. Chairman William R. Laidig, who failed in his effort to thwart Georgia-Pacific Corp.’s takeover, has resigned.

The company said it anticipates Laidig’s successor will be Ronald P. Hogan, who currently is vice chairman of Great Northern and president and chief operating officer of Georgia-Pacific.

Laidig’s departure comes roughly a month before Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific plans to complete its $65.75-a-share merger.

“He put out a letter to employees saying that he agreed to help during the transition and had done that to the point it was most productive,” Great Northern spokesman Stephen M. Hill said.

Laidig will leave with a “golden handshake” worth millions of dollars. After Georgia-Pacific initiated its unsolicited takeover attempt last fall, the Great Northern board approved a sweetened package that calls for Laidig to get three times his base salary plus his highest annual bonus of the past three years. The company’s 1989 proxy statement listed Laidig’s salary at $707,000 a year.

Laidig had been chairman since 1984.