Dun & Bradstreet Corp., Chairman and CEO Volney Taylor resigned Monday, sources at the DMA fall conference told DIRECT Newsline yesterday.
Upon news of the announcement, shares of the Murray Hill, NJ-based business information conglomerate rose as much as 10.5%, according to reports.
Taylor, 59, plans to retire Dec. 31. In a letter to the board of directors, he said it was “appropriate” for him to resign after 27 years at the company “in light of my own personal and professional considerations,” the report stated. The board will reduce its size to nine members.
Clifford L. Alexander, Jr., 66, president of Alexander & Associates and a member of the board of directors, will serve as interim chairman and CEO until a permanent replacement can be hired. The company will consider executives inside and outside the company to succeed Taylor.
Dun & Bradstreet, parent of Moody’s Investors Service, is under pressure from its largest investor, Chicago-based Harris Associates LP, to boost its share price. Harris in September urged the company to sell itself and organized a meeting of shareholders on Nov. 8 to put pressure on the company, the report said.
William Donald, an analyst at Standard & Poor’s Corp., told the wire service that the company has taken some measures but needs to do more. He added that he expects more resignations and management changes in coming weeks.
Taylor joined the company in 1972 and has served as chairman and CEO since 1996.
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