The chief executive, president and chairman who added carbon air fresheners and a microwave-absorbing patch for cell phones to Calgon Carbon Corp.'s mix of products resigned Monday.
James A. Cederna, 52, stepped down from all three positions after Calgon Carbon shares fell 41 percent in 2002. The company, which makes air- and water-purifying products, named John S. Stanik, 49, acting president and chief executive, and Thomas A. McConomy, 69, acting chairman. McConomy is a co-founder and former CEO.
Calgon Carbon only said that Cederna was leaving "to pursue other career opportunities." Cederna declined comment.
Analysts that follow Pittsburgh-based Calgon Carbon said they were surprised by the move.
"I'm not going to pretend I saw it coming. I don't know exactly what he promised to deliver when he was hired, but I imagine it's been slow in coming," said Thomas J. Lewis, an analyst with C.L. King & Associates in Albany, N.Y. "I'm going over my notes looking for clues and I'm not coming up with anything."
Cederna was named chief executive in April 1999 and chairman in May 2001. While he may be best remembered for introducing Wave Zorb, a carbon cloth patch that attached to cell phone earpieces to absorb microwaves, in 2000; and Purrfectly Fresh, an activated carbon air freshener, in 2001, he also led an ambitious restructuring in 2000.
By 2001, that restructuring was being credited with improved financial results, better managed costs and a more-diverse mix of products and services.
"I don't know what the deal is. In our view, at least, Jim has done a great job of strengthening and stabilizing this business, but he's been swimming upstream," said Allen Cohen, an analyst with First Analysis Securities in Chicago. "My knowledge is that Jim carried out the strategy and approach for which he was hired, and that was to calm things down and strengthen the company's framework."
On Feb. 7, Calgon reported fourth-quarter earnings of $300,000, or 1 cent a diluted share, up from $200,000 a year ago. Still, the company's shares have been hammered in the ongoing recession, losing 41 percent last year.
Calgon shares closed at $5.44 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, down 29 cents, or 5.06 percent.
"I would bet on this guy again. I think he understood what needed to be done, but he got less than no help from the economy," Lewis said of Cederna. "I'm not sure what Calgon does from here. Prior to his arrival, they had put the company up for sale, and there was some interest, so maybe they'll decide to go down that road again."
Stanik, Calgon's acting president and chief executive, has been with the company since 1991, most recently as a senior vice president. McConomy, the acting chairman, was one of the founders of Calgon Carbon and served as chief executive from 1985 to 1994 and 1998 to Cederna's appointment in 1999.
