By
Emil Lee
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August 28, 2007
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It's always smart to do some investigating when founders and CEOs decide to leave their companies. So get out your magnifying glasses, Fools: CEO David Kalt announced plans to depart Stock Advisor selection optionsXpress (Nasdaq: OXPS ) at the end of next month.
In this case, I found no major red flags. There seems to be a reasonable succession plan in place, with current president and former CFO David Fisher ready to step up to the plate. In addition, Ned Bennett and James Gray, who co-founded the company with Kalt, will continue as chairman and executive vice-chairman of the company, respectively.
Kalt said he's leaving to pursue other earlier-stage entrepreneurial opportunities. Although CEO departures are almost always explained with legal boilerplate, I think it's reasonable for a company's founder to get the itch to return to his entrepreneurial roots. The company did mention that Kalt will remain one of optionsXpress' largest shareholders.
It's a consolidation-happy industry, with E*Trade (Nasdaq: ETFC ) and TD AMERITRADE (Nasdaq: AMTD ) currently in merger talks. I won't speculate on the implications of Kalt's departure on his company's merger prospects. I'll simply note that I wouldn't be surprised if brokers like Schwab (Nasdaq: SCHW ) and Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR ) wanted to get their hands on optionsXpress and its desirable customer base.
Related Foolishness:
Charles Schwab and optionsXpress are both
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Fool contributor Emil Lee is an analyst and a disciple of value investing. He doesn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned above. Emil appreciates your comments, concerns, and complaints. The Motley Fool's disclosure policy is your best option.
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