Lordstown Motors Corp. said Monday that its top two executives have resigned following an internal investigation that found it had made some misstatements about the demand for its Endurance pickup truck.
Steve Burns, founder, chief executive officer and chairman, and Julio Rodriguez, chief financial officer, resigned on Sunday, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Angela Strand, the company's lead independent director who is managing director of Strand Strategy and considered a thought leader and expert in the commercial electric vehicle sector, has been appointed executive chairwoman and will oversee the organization’s transition until a permanent CEO is identified, the company said.
Becky Roof is a certified public accountant and managing director of AlixPartners LLP, a turnaround consulting firm, will serve as interim CFO.
And Jane Ritson-Parsons, the company's interim chief brand officer, has been appointed chief operating officer, the company said.
"As we transition to the commercial stage of our business — with planned commencement of limited production in late-September — we have to put in place a seasoned management team with deep experience leading and operating publicly-listed OEM companies," said David Hamamoto, a Lordstown Motors director, in a statement.
The Youngstown, Ohio-area developer of electric vehicles for the commercial fleet market also announced several management changes as the company switches to commercial production mode.
Last week, the company said it has insufficient cash to begin full-scale commercial production and sale of its Endurance electric truck in late September as planned, according to a regulatory filing.
Investor confidence in the company's statements about its startup operations began to slip in March following a scathing investment report by short-seller Hindenburg Research that said Lordstown Motors misled investors about its truck preorders and the progress it is making toward putting its first model into production.
"The special committee's investigation concluded that the Hindenburg Report is, in significant respects, false and misleading. In particular, its challenges to the viability of Lordstown Motors’ technology and timeline to start of production are not accurate," the company said in a statement on Monday.
"The investigation did, however, identify issues regarding the accuracy of certain statements regarding the company's pre-orders," Lordstown Motors said.
Lordstown Motors shares (Nasdaq: RIDE) were down more than 19% to $9.23 in early morning trading Monday.
