P&G men's razor leader leaving to try to be a CEO

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Longtime Procter & Gamble Co <PG.N> executive Charles "Chip" Bergh, a leader in the Gillette razor business, is leaving to try to become a chief executive officer of a major company, the household products maker said on Tuesday.

The departure of Bergh, 53, is the latest in a string of announcements of executives leaving the company. Edward Shirley, a longtime Gillette executive, already announced plans to retire in January, while P&G veteran Robert Steele is set to retire in September.

Bergh joined P&G as a brand assistant in cleaning products in 1983 and since then has worked in areas from food and beverage to razors. He became president of P&G's global grooming business in 2006, the same year that the Gillette unit launched Fusion, the top-selling blade and razor brand in the world. He was named president of global male grooming in 2009.

Patrice Louvet, the president of P&G's global prestige unit, is replacing Bergh as president of global male grooming. Joanne Crewes, vice president of the global SKII and female beauty brands in the Australasian, ASEAN, India, Japan and Korea markets, is succeeding Louvet in the global prestige role.

Louvet and Crewes will assume their new roles on July 1, and Bergh will leave the company as of September 1, P&G said.

Shares of P&G were down 0.3 percent at $65.29 in morning trading.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)