Anthony S. Thornley appointed as new CEO of Callaway Golf
Callaway Golf, the golf gear maker in United States, has appointed Anthony S. Thornley as the interim president and chief executive officer after George Fellows resigned because of some undisclosed personal reasons. Fellows resigned
from the post after serving for six years.
Thornley himself confirmed the news in a press conference held in California. The 65-year-old, who joined Callaway's board of directors in 2004, said that the vacancy had to be filled with immediate effect hence, he forwarded his
name for the position and was appointed as the CEO.
Thornley, who had been playing for England as an amateur in his young days, served as the Chief Operating Officer of Qualcomm Inc. from 2002 to 2005. He has also chaired the audit committee of Callaway's board and has worked as the
financial expert in the company.
While elaborating the reason behind Fellow’s resignation, Thornley said that the company laid a plan through which it would have recovered the losses, but Fellows was against the notion and as a protest, he decided to walk away from
the company.
Callaway had been reporting financial setbacks since 2009, because of the recession in the economy. According to the stats presented by Thornley, the company recorded earnings before taxes worth of $20 million for 2011, out of which
$8 million was recorded in the second quarter. The company has forecasted a profit more than the actual turnover, but with increasing taxes, the benchmark could not be achieved.
Thornley was speaking to reporters at a press conference, "While it is clear that it was the global economic recession that derailed our record sales and earnings pace, it is also clear that our business is not keeping pace with the
industry recovery."
As a solution, Callaway - known for its clubs and balls - decided to lay off a huge number of employees. Although, they did not specify the exact figure of employees to be laid off, they did mention the expected annual cost savings
that would be generated as a result of this downsizing. He said that the company would save $50-million, as a result of these changes.
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