Windstream's new CEO Tony Thomas has revealed that former CEO Jeff Gardner's resignation from the company in December was due to the company's financial and operational performance, reports Arkansas Business.
Thomas' comments shed more light on the previous company statement that Gardner's exit was required to drive a "change in perspective" to "accelerate the pace of change."
He added that an "overall collective view of performance" was also a factor.
"I can tell you unequivocally that the board's decision to make this change was tied to Windstream's financial performance and operational performance. And that was an evaluation of where Windstream was at [then] and where it needed to go," Thomas said. "The decision that Jeff and the board reached was [that] change was required to achieve what the board wanted, to achieve what I call sometimes the full potential of Windstream."
On Dec. 11, Windstream announced Gardner was resigning from the CEO role. Thomas, former CFO who had been tapped to lead the company's real estate investment trust (REIT), was named as his replacement.
One of the key issues was that Windstream's earnings underperformed every quarter throughout 2014. In its third-quarter 2014 earnings statement, revenue was down 74 percent from the same period in 2013.
For more:
- Arkansas Business has this article
On the hot seat: Thomas: Windstream holds advantage in second, third tier markets
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