Office Depot Inc (ODP) CEO Roland Smith to Retire

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Office Depot Inc (NASDAQ:ODP) CEO Roland Smith will be retiring from the role in 2017.

Office Depot, ODPThe Office Depot CEO said he will retire until the company has completed its search for a replacement. ODP said that it plans to have a new CEO found by the end of the first quarter of 2017. Smith is expected to remain as the Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors even after his time as its CEO comes to an end.

“My decision to retire has not been an easy one. In 2013, I set aside a number of personal ambitions to accept a three-year contract with Office Depot, and it’s now time for me to refocus on those priorities,” the Office Depot CEO said in a statement. “I am extraordinarily proud of what the Office Depot team has accomplished these past three years, and I am confident that we will successfully execute our new strategy and grow shareholder value.”

Office Depot also announced that it is consolidating its retail, contract, e-commerce and marketing operations. These operations will now be under the newly-created Chief Operating Officer, North America position. Troy Rice, ODP’s current Executive Vice President of Retail, will take on the new role.

Executive Vice President of Business is another new role being created by the company and Rob Koch has been named to it. Koch and Rice will both report to Office Depot’s President of North America Mark Cosby until a new CEO is selected. When that happens, the two roles will be consolidated into one.

The retirement of Office Depot CEO Roland Smith comes roughly three months after the company’s attempt to merger with Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) was blocked by a federal judge. Former Staples CEO Ron Sargent stepped down roughly one month after the merger with ODP failed.

ODP shares were up 1% as of Monday morning.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/08/office-depot-odp/.

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