When Meyer died and Sterling sold the Eau Claire plant, Dunlap moved on to a job in strategic planning at American Can Company in Greenwich, Connecticut. As head of special projects, Dunlap coordinated a study that prompted American Can to abandon its matrix management system, which blurred responsibility for bottom-line results, and instead return to a business-unit structure in which the business-unit head had full authority and responsibility for the performance of the division. Dunlap was then named senior vice president and group executive of the Performance Plastics Division, which made plastic wraps for meat, cheese, cream cheese, potato chips, and Kool-Aid. The division had historically been one of American Can's poorest performers; Dunlap was given the task of making it a success within a year or else disposing of it.