By: (AP) Struggling online magazine publisher Salon Media Group said its CEO, Michael O'Donnell, is leaving the company after seven years.
The San Francisco-based company, which has been battling to survive, gave no reason for O'Donnell's departure in an announcement Thursday.
"It was sort of a mutual decision," O'Donnell said in an interview Thursday. "It just seemed like the right time to move on."
After taking some time off, O'Donnell said he may work on a presidential campaign, but declined to identify the candidate he might support.
O'Donnell will be replaced as CEO by Salon founder David Talbot, who is the company's chairman and editor-in-chief. Elizabeth Hambrecht, Salon's chief financial officer, will inherit O'Donnell's title as president.
A former software sales executive, O'Donnell joined Salon as president and publisher in December 1996. He became CEO shortly before Salon's initial public offering of stock in June 1999.
With accumulated losses of $83.6 million since its inception, Salon still hasn't proven it can make money. The company's chronic troubles prompted its independent auditors to issue warnings about its financial health in each of the past two years.
The miseries have decimated Salon's stock, which was trading Thursday at 7 cents per share in the over-the-counter market.
Salon paid O'Donnell an annual salary of $191,250.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here