Mike McQuary, president and board member for EarthLink, Inc. (Nasdaq: ELNK), has resigned and also is leaving the board of directors, citing personal reasons.
Wall Street didn’t react kindly, either. EarthLink stock fell 11 percent, to $7, after at one point hitting $6.85. More than 5.5 million shares were traded – twice the normal volume. It’s 52-week high is above $18.
Analysts were reported by various sources as saying EarthLink’s lack of growth in the Internet marketplace could have played a role in the decision. But “theStreet” said McQuary’s family needs include a new set of triplets. Two analysts quoted by Reuters also praised McQuary and said stock in the nation’s third largest ISP should rebound.
Garry Betty, chief executive officer, will assume McQuary’s day-to- day responsibilities, the company said early today in a statement. McQuary will continue to work on special projects with Betty and EarthLink, the company said.
“In his tenure as president, Mike has been greatly responsible for many of the accomplishments that EarthLink has achieved,” Betty said in a statement. “He has played an invaluable role in transforming EarthLink into a leading national ISP with a reputation for award winning service and customer support. His commitment to the company has been an inspiration to all of us over the years.”
McQuary was formerly with MindSpring, which merged with EarthLink in February 2000. He joined MindSpring in 1995 as executive vice president of sales and marketing. A few months later, he became president and chief operating officer of MindSpring.
Prior to joining MindSpring, McQuary served in a variety of sales, marketing and operations management positions with Mobil Chemical Co., a division of Mobil Corp. He also is co-chairperson of the Georgia Technology Forum.
Headquartered in Atlanta, EarthLink provides a full range of Internet access, hosting and e-commerce solutions to almost 5 million subscribers over a nationwide network of dial-up points of presence, as well as high-speed access and wireless technologies.
EarthLink:
www.earthlink.net
