Change of guards at H&R Block
H&R Block chairman, president and CEO, steps down as former SEC chairman and former Aetna CFO step in
Mark Ernst has resigned as chairman, president and chief executive officer
(CEO) in a top level company restructure of
H
&R Block, USA’s biggest tax preparation expert, and will stay on as a
consultant until the end of the year to facilitate the transition to new
leadership.
Richard Breeden, a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, has
been nominated by the H&R board to fill the chairman’s position. He will
serve as a non-executive director, focusing mainly on external constituencies
and leadership of the board.
Alan Bennett has come out of retirement to take up the position of interim
CEO. He retired earlier this year as chief financial officer (CFO) and a member
of the office of the chairman of
Aetna Inc.
The H&R board has formed a search committee to recruit a new CEO on a
permanent basis. Bennett has informed the search committee he does not wish to
be considered as a candidate for the new CEO search.
Further reading:
Largest US tax preparer drops KPMG