Three High-Profile Executives Fired This Year

It’s been a rough year for American executives marked by significant shakeups at firms like Uber and Twitter. The moves at the corporate level in US firms have been initiated for reasons ranging from dipping profits to pivots in company culture.

As economic uncertainty continue to loom large in the Trump era, high level officers at US firms are likely to remain on the cutting block. Here are three high-profile American executives that have already come under the axe this year.

Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson:

Esty’s Chad Dickerson took the brunt of a down opening quart of 2017 when the on-line craft marketplace posted loss in March. That’s compared with a profit from last year, spurring the company to not only split from Silverman but also drop 80 positions as a cost cutting measure. The cuts represent around 8% of the company’s overall workforce.

The on-line powerhouse post a net loss of $0.4 million in Q1, marking serious dip from their net profit of $1.2 million in Q1 last year. At least part of the net loss this year was associated with the company’s build-to-suit lease interest on their new corporate headquarters.

Dickerson will be replaced as CEO for Etsy by Josh Silverman and Fred Wilson will step in as new Chairman of the Board. Both represent internal hires, as Silverman served as a board member from November 2016 and Wilson served as an independent advisor to Etsy. Dickerson will continue to serve with company in an advisory role, through the end of May 2017.

Molina Healthcare’s Mario Molina:

Molina Healthcare pulled the plug on Dr. J. Mario Molina as their CEO, citing disappointing profit figures. The move clears the way for their Chief Accounting Officer Joseph White to step in as an interim CEO and President. The company’s board has also launched an immediate search for a permanent replace in both positions.

In a statement about the leadership change Molina’s Board Chairman Dale Wolf pointed towards “disappointing financial performance” and says that the board decided “to change leadership in order to drive profitability through operational improvements.” He also said they plan to take “targeted and deliberate actions to enhance the Company’s focus and improve its competitive position within the healthcare industry.

News of the pivot spurred a jump in their net income per diluted share to $1.37 in the first quarter of 2017. That’s an increase from $0.43 over the first quarter last year. They also posted a serious bump in net income before taxes, growing $67 million to $131 million as compared with the first quarter of 2016.

Richmond Fed’s Jeffrey Lacker:

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker resigned unexpectedly last month after admitting that he was the source of leaked information about the company’s quantitative easing program. Suspicion over the leaks emerged in 2012 after Gold Medley Advisors reported on their QE3 program that had been deemed classified.

In a statement about his resignation Lacker said that he “deeply regrets the role that [he] may have played in confirming…confidential information.”

The leak came in the form of an implied confirmation on a specific detail of one policy, according to Lacker. He cites that the leak was likely due to his failure to decline comment on the information could have been taken by the analyst, in the context of the conversation, as an acknowledgment or confirmation of the information.”

Richmond Fed has named that First Vice President Mark Mullinix will step in as an interim President.
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