Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has lost two key executives this month, including its interim CEO and chief financial officer.
The Durango-based confectionery announced last week that CFO Allen Arroyo had resigned from the company on amicable terms.
In a Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said his resignation is not the result of any disagreement with the company or its board of directors.
“Allen was approached by a private equity firm that he had worked for in the past, with an opportunity that he felt was too good to pass up,” said RMCF board of directors Chairman Jeff Geygan.
Arroyo had served as the company’s CFO for almost two years.
In another turn of events, interim CEO Starlette Johnson stepped down from her position earlier this month.
Geygan has assumed the role of interim CEO as the company tries to fill both positions.
Johnson took over after the company fired then CEO Rob Sarlls in January.
Since then, the board decided it wants its executives to live in or near Durango, Geygan said.
“We’ve really came to the conclusion, as we have with the CFO, that we’d like to have our CEO in town,” Geygan said. “She (Johnson) has been retired for several years and lives in Dallas. And when we came to that decision, she thought it was best to just pass the reins now to me.”
Johnson will still serve on the RMCF board of directors.
The hope is that having executives work on location will build a better corporate environment, Geygan said. Post COVID-19, many executives have become accustomed to working from states removed from the company headquarters.
“There’s a debate about the impact that (remote working) has on corporate culture, corporate value and people coming to the office,” he said. “I think we’re moving in the direction where we’d like to have people actually come to the office, live in the community and be good citizens here.”
The new approach aligns with the company’s strategic efforts to build a stronger relationship with the Durango community. Geygan said there is an intrinsic advantage to having executives connect with a community socially and professionally.
The company has been vocal about supporting its franchise system, an area the board felt needed improvement when it let go of Sarlls in January.
Geygan said the company would like to make a hire for both positions as soon as possible.
“We’ll be looking for a permanent CEO in the area,” he said. “And that would be an individual with experience in franchising, retail consumer, so we think it’d be a nice match between a CFO with manufacturing experience and a CEO with franchise and retail experience.”
tbrown@durangoherald.com
