- Push-out Score determined
- After less than three years in the position
- Dan Hendrix taking over
- Search for a successor
(exechange) — Atlanta, Georgia, January 21, 2020 — This news came the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Jay Gould, chief executive of Interface, leaves. As announced by Interface Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, Jay D. Gould, chief executive officer, has left the commercial flooring company after less than three years in the role, effective January 19, 2020.
Among the 3,000 largest publicly held companies incorporated in the U.S. based on market capitalization, the average tenure of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months was 7.5 years, according to data compiled by exechange. On an accumulated basis, around 26% of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months left their posts within three years.
Interface will undertake a search for a successor.
Jay Gould’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Daniel T. (Dan) Hendrix, currently Chairman of the Board of Interface Inc.
“Personal behavior that violated Company policy and core values”
Jay Gould’s departure from the CEO post is explained as follows. Interface said: “Hendrix succeeds Jay Gould who was terminated after an investigation concluded that he engaged in personal behavior that violated Company policy and core values. Interface confirmed that this leadership transition is unrelated to the Company’s operational or financial performance.”
Precise information regarding Jay Gould’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Terminate for cause”
Interface said: “On January 19, 2020, the Board of Directors of Interface, Inc., a Georgia corporation (the “Company”), voted to terminate for cause the employment of Jay D. Gould, President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, for violations of the Company’s working environment policies.”
Share price decline
The announcement follows a decline in Interface Inc.’s share price of 10% since March 2017.
In the position of CEO since 2017
Jay Gould became CEO of the Company in 2017.
Gould joined the Company as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2015, was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer in 2016, and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 2017.
From 2012 to 2015, Gould was the Chief Executive Officer of American Standard Brands, a kitchen and bath products company.
Prior to American Standard, Gould held senior executive roles at Newell Rubbermaid Inc., a global marketer of consumer and commercial products, serving as President of its Home & Family business group (2008-2012) and President of its Parenting Essentials business group (2006-2008).
He previously held executive level positions at The Campbell Soup Company (2002-2006) and The Coca-Cola Company (1995-2002).
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding the management change on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to Interface and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 4.2020 ($).