Steve Davis has relinquished his duties as CEO of the Bob Evans Farms family restaurant chain in what the company described as a mutual decision between Davis and the board.
Day-to-day leadership of Bob Evans, which also sells retails grocery items, will be shared by Mark Hood, CFO, and Mike Townsley, president of the packaged-foods division, until a permanent replacement for Davis is hired.
They will be assisted by a three-person Transition Committee that includes one-time Arby’s CEO Doug Benham, now an outside director of Bob Evans.
Benham and three other directors were nominated for their seats by Sandell Asset Management, a hedge fund that owns about 6.8 percent of Bob Evans’ stock. The firm had been loudly critical of Davis, saying his cost controls were lax and blasting his revenues-building efforts as ineffective.
Bob Evans reported a 2 percent decline in net income on flat revenues for the second quarter ended Oct. 24.
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