Acxiom Ceo Resigns; Major Write-downs Anticipated

Acxiom Corp. CEO John Meyer has resigned effective March 28, 2011, the company said.
 
Michael J. Durham, Acxiom’s chairman, said, “We’ve accomplished a great deal under John’s leadership, and we are very grateful for his contributions to Acxiom during a critical time in the company’s history. Through his efforts the company has stabilized its profitability and significantly improved its balance sheet, without compromising Acxiom’s commitment to customer excellence. However, with the expanded importance of digital media, we are entering a new phase in Acxiom’s evolution. The Board intends to find a new CEO who is an exceptional executive and also is an industry thought leader who will move aggressively to accelerate Acxiom’s growth.”
 
The board of directors has appointed Jerry D. Gramaglia, a member of the board, to serve as interim CEO while the board conducts a search for a permanent replacement.

Gramaglia has been a director of Acxiom since 2009. He was the President and Chief Operating Officer for E*TRADE Group Inc., and then served as partner at Arrowpath Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm.
 
In addition, Acxiom announced that Christopher Wolf has informed the company of his intention to resign for personal reasons from his position as Chief Financial Officer in the second calendar quarter of 2011.

Wolf indicated his desire to stop commuting to Little Rock from his home in Florida and to spend more time with his family.
 
The company also announced that it expects to record a non-cash impairment charge in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 in connection with a write-down of the carrying value of goodwill and other long-lived assets associated with its international operations. Unable to give a specific number, Acxiom said it expects the write-down to be between $50 and $90 million.
 
In addition to the estimate of the goodwill impairment charge, unusual items in the fourth quarter will "include other restructuring and impairment charges in both the U.S. and international operations."