Online brokerage E*Trade Financial has announced that Christos Cotsakos has resigned as chairman, chief executive officer and direcor of the company. He has been replaced by president Mitchell Caplan.
The company did not state any reasons for the sudden resignation, but investors have been troubled of late by corporate governance issues. These came to a head last year when Cotsakos was forced to return $21 million to the company after shareholders revolted against his outsize $80 million pay packet.
Cotsakos grew the firm during the go-go years of the Internet bubble into the Amazon of the online brokerage business, eventually branching out through acquisitions into other financial services and bricks and mortar operations. However, the retreat of the individual investor has hit the firm badly and the company's stock has fallen from an all-time high of $72.5 to its current levels of $5 per share.
Caplan joined the company in 2000 after the firm's acquisition of Telebank and Telebanc Financial Corporation, and was named president and COO in 2002.
Prior to this he was an associate at the law firm Shearman & Sterling.
The company also announced the appointment of George Hayter, as lead director and non-executive chairman. Hayter has been a director of E*Trade since 1995.