RE: RE: Shakeup. This move happened sooner than I expected, but good on the board to execute a management change before we enter 2013. At the end of the day this move was all about the share price (there's a reason why "shareholder value" was mentioned throughout the press release). SK lost credibility with investors and the street to the point where a change was needed. The focus now will be on rebuilding that credibility & achieving growth in profit. Having one of our largest shareholders with a few grey hairs lead the company will be veiwed as a positive.
It is possible that the company is now tracking below the guided 10% growth. But the street won't care anymore with a new sherriff in town. All prior guidance of any sort is now void. I think ultimately the company will execute some operational changes, drop non-core products (potentially Earthworks), and try to drive a very positive 2013 so as to get buy-in from investors that indeed things are different. I also think if the share price moves up sufficiently enough the BOD would consider a sale of the business. One has to think that Richard is not wanting to be in his new role for the long-term. Rather I suspect he wants to lead the turn around effort, be a credible face for the company, and ultimately sell. North of $2.00 in share price will be needed (at least). That's too high a premium today,so no sale for the meantime.