Oxygen Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:OXBT) is searching for a new top executive after terminating CEO Chris Stern in connection with an audit investigation.
Morrisville, North Carolina-based Oxygen Biotherapeutics disclosed Stern’s termination in a securities filing Wednesday after the markets closed. The filing stated that Stern was terminated “for cause” in connection with an audit committee investigation “concerning conduct by Mr. Stern and its potential impact on the company.” No other information on the audit investigation or the conduct in question was disclosed.
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Stern, who was also chairman of Oxygen Biotherapeutics’s board of directors, will not receive any severance, according to terms of an employment agreement signed on May 13. Under the previous employment agreement, Stern would have been entitled to receive $200,000 cash and 6,667 shares of common stock if he ceased to be a director for any reason. Stepping in as interim CEO is CFO and treasurer Michael Jebsen, who has worked for Oxygen Biotherapeutics since 2009.
“We will move swiftly, but deliberately, in our search for a new CEO,” Interim Chairman Rene Eckert said in a prepared statement. “We are fortunate to have Michael and believe that he has the knowledge, ability and sound judgment to lead our company during this transition period.”
Oxygen Biotherapeutics develops and markets products that enhance the delivery of oxygen to injured tissue in the body. The company is currently in phase 2 clinical trials studying the compound Oxycyte as a treatment for traumatic brain injury. The company is also developing a wound care treatment that also employs the company’s oxygen-delivery technology.
Stern moved Oxygen Biotheraepeutics from California to North Carolina in 2008, taking over as CEO following the death of former CEO Robert Larsen. In addition to its Morrisville headquarters, the company continues to employ workers at a laboratory in California.
