Newell Rubbermaid Inc's chief executive will retire later this year, and the consumer products maker is looking for a replacement.

Mark Ketchum, 61, took the helm at Newell in 2005 and was instrumental in turning around the maker of Sharpie markers and Rubbermaid storage containers.

The 1971 industrial engineering graduate from Cornell University built several global brands at Procter & Gamble

during a 33-year career, before retiring in 2004, according to Newell's website.

Ketchum would remain on Newell board through the spring of 2012, the company said in a statement.

Under his leadership, Newell, whose products include Graco strollers, Calphalon cookware and Paper Mate pens, moved to exit commoditized product categories such as plastic storage boxes, shelving and wooden pencils.

Newell's customers range from mass merchant Target Corp to office supplies seller Staples Inc and home goods chain Williams-Sonoma .

Shares of the Atlanta-based company closed at $18.08 on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Unnikrishnan Nair)