Olympus President and CEO Stephan Kaufmann resigns over 'illegal drug allegations'
Olympus, a Japanese precision equipment manufacturer, announced on Monday, October 28, 2024, that its Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO, Stephan Kaufmann, had resigned effective the same day. Olympus explained that the reason for the resignation was that an internal investigation was conducted following a report that Kaufmann had purchased illegal drugs, and that, based on the results of the investigation, Kaufmann had been asked to resign, and he agreed.
Change in Representative Executive Officer
(PDF file)
According to
Olympus stated, 'When we received a report that Stefan Kaufmann had purchased illegal drugs, we immediately conducted a fact-finding investigation in consultation with an external law firm, reported the matter to the investigative authorities, and have since cooperated fully with the investigation.'
As a result of an internal investigation, Olympus' board of directors unanimously determined that Kaufman had likely engaged in conduct that was incompatible with the company's code of conduct and corporate culture, and asked him to resign, which he did.
Kaufmann, a native of Germany and 56 years old at the time of writing, joined Olympus Europa, Olympus's regional headquarters for Europe and the Middle East, in 2003. He joined Olympus' headquarters in Tokyo as chief administrative officer in 2019 and has led Olympus as CEO since April 2023, but will be stepping down just a year and a half after taking office.
Following Kaufman's resignation, Olympus said Chairman and CEO Yasuo Takeuchi will assume CEO duties for the time being, and that its nomination committee is considering all options for a successor to the CEO position.
Following the CEO's sudden resignation, Olympus's stock price was trading at 2,669 yen at the time of writing, down 5.95% from the previous day's closing price.
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