Black Diamond Inc. president and presumptive CEO Zeena Freeman rather suddenly resigned on June 3, the company announced late Thursday. Black Diamond also announced that CEO Peter Metcalf resigned from the company’s board of directors May 29 to ensure compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements.
A former Sony and Gap executive, Freeman was named Black Diamond President less than a year ago, in August 2014. At the time, she signed an employment agreement that called for her to replace Black Diamond Founder and CEO Peter Metcalf as CEO later this month. But the company announced earlier this year that it was exploring the sale of Black Diamond Equipment, including the PIEPS brand and the POC brand, in two separate transactions, effectively eliminating the position of president of all three brands.
Black Diamond officials said the company would “make payments and provide the benefits to Ms. Freeman set forth in the employment agreement as though there were a termination due to a change in control.”
Metcalf will return to his role as president of Black Diamond Inc., as well as continue his role as CEO. His voluntarily resignation from the company’s board of directors was to comply with NASDAQ regulations that stipulate that the board “consist of a majority of independent directors.”
