ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 30 -- Eastman Kodak Company today named Matthias Freund as acting president of consumer imaging products and services, effective immediately. Freund, a corporate vice president, currently is chief operating officer of consumer imaging products and services as well as the chief executive officer of Kodak's Qualex photofinishing subsidiary. He will retain those responsibilities in his new role. Daniel P. Palumbo, 45, president of consumer imaging products and services as well as a senior vice president of the company, has left to pursue other interests, also effective immediately. Palumbo joined Kodak in 1997 from Procter & Gamble Co. He assumed his current position in September 2000. Freund, 54, will report to Antonio Perez, Kodak's President and Chief Operating Officer. "Matt has broad international experience, and he has been and remains a leader in accelerating Kodak's move into the digital world," Perez said. "He has spent about half of his career outside the U.S., during which time he also gained experience in sales, marketing, distribution and product development. He was a major contributor to the successful launch last year of Kodak PerfectTouch processing, among our latest efforts to generate the increased printing of pictures. Matt also has strong operational abilities, as evidenced by recent productivity improvements at Qualex and the turnaround he led of Kodak's consumer business in Germany during the mid-1990s." "We thank Dan Palumbo for all his contributions, and we fully expect Matt to continue driving performance improvements in consumer imaging products and services," Perez said. Kodak also said that it will consider all its options for a successor. Freund joined Kodak in Germany in 1972. He has held a variety of consumer imaging and photofinishing business positions in Europe, including General Manager of Kodak Consumer Imaging, Germany. He moved to Rochester in 1996 as Product Business Manager for Kodak's Output Products Business. He was promoted to his current position in September 2000. A native of Stade, Germany, Freund holds a Business degree in Photo Trade Marketing from Fotofachschule in Kiel. "I look forward to making more contributions to the success of Kodak," Freund said. "We are at the beginning of a digital evolution that will give consumers more options for taking, printing and sharing pictures. Our goal is to ensure that Kodak continues to make it easy for consumers to enjoy photography in all its forms in a digital age." Mr. Freund began his career with Eastman Kodak Company at Kodak AG, Germany, in 1972, as a business planner in Commercial Labs and Professional Wholesaler, followed by an assignment as sales representative for Photofinishing Products and marketing manager in Commercial Labs. In 1979, he was named the manager of Customer Service and European Logistics and Supply manager for Kodak Copier and Clinical Chemistry business. In 1983, Mr. Freund was transferred to Rochester as the European manager, Consumer Electronics Division and product planning director, Video Equipment. In 1986, he returned to Kodak AG as national sales manager, Photofinishing System Division. In 1988, Mr. Freund returned to Rochester as manager, Product & Marketing Planning New Photographic Systems (Photo CD and APS). In 1993, he was named the country business unit manager, Consumer Imaging, Kodak AG, Germany. In 1996, Mr. Freund was named general manager, Photofinishing Product Business, Consumer Imaging, Kodak, Rochester. He was elected a corporate vice president in September 1996. In 1998, Mr. Freund was named general manager, Consumer Imaging, U.S. and Canada Region, and vice president, Kodak, as well as president and chief executive officer of Qualex Inc., in 1998. In 2000, he assumed the additional responsibility of general manager, Output Product and Service Business, Consumer Imaging. In September of that year, he accepted his current role as Chief Operating Officer of Consumer Imaging. Mr. Freund is a native of Stade, Germany, and holds a Business degree in Photo Trade Marketing from Fotofachschule, Kiel. He also graduated as Polizei Oberwachtmeister (equivalent to U.S. Military Police Colonel) from Police Academy in Hamburg, Germany. Key Achievements: Regained #1 film share position in Germany Significantly improved margin/EFO in Germany Developed Kodak's digital photofinishing equipment portfolio at Qualex Redirected R&D from analog to digital photofinishing equipment at Qualex Started R&D initiatives that resulted in Kodak's superior DuraLife paper Personal: Married to Marianne Freund One daughter, Stefanie, and one son, Bastian