Robert Stiller has been stripped of his chairmanship of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters after a margin call forced the sale of 5m of his shares in the company in violation of internal trading policies.
The margin call was triggered after a steep fall in Green Mountain’s share price, which on Thursday fell 47 per cent, after a warning that it would fail to meet full-year sales guidance.
Mr Stiller remains on the board of the company he founded in 1981 but will not serve on any board committees or receive payment for his services.
William Davis, the board’s lead director, has also been stripped of his title after a margin call forced the sale of 500,000 of his shares.
The Vermont-based company said in a statement that the forced share sales were beyond the control of the company.
“Once the board was notified of this trading activity, it moved quickly to investigate and address this matter,” it said. “The board determined that it was in the best interest of the company and its shareholders for Mr Stiller and Mr Davis to relinquish their leadership positions on the board as well as their committee roles.”
Green Mountain appointed Michael Mardy, head of the board’s audit and finance committee, as interim chairman.
The company’s shares rose 8.6 per cent to $26.38 in regular trade on Tuesday then declined as much as 5 per cent in after-market trading following the announcement of the board changes.