Bruce Myers, chief financial officer of Advanced Marketing Services, has been named to succeed Charlie Tillinghast as president and CEO of the company, effective November 12. Tillinghast, a cofounder of AMS and its CEO until 1996, took over as CEO again in April following the resignations of Michael Nicita and Ed Leonard as president and CFO, respectively (News, Apr. 19). Myers, an AMS consultant, was named CFO at the same time. Also effective November 12, Tillinghast will resign from the AMS board, to be replaced by Myers. Myers had served in financial roles with a number of companies before joining AMS as a consultant, although he has never run a company as CEO. He will continue to serve as CFO until a replacement is found.
Tillinghast's departure, which AMS called a retirement, follows the resignation last week of Kevan Lyon, who had been executive v-p for wholesale merchandising/distribution, and is something of a surprise. At the time of his appointment this spring, Tillinghast told PW that he was not merely serving as an interim CEO. "No search is underway" to find a successor, he maintained.
A company spokesperson declined to discuss whether the two investigations into AMS's advertising policies played a part in Tillinghast's retirement. The spokesperson said more details about the leadership change will be provided in a conference call set for November 1, at which both Tillinghast and Myers will participate.
