CHICAGO—Playboy Enterprises Inc. has reportedly hired an interim CFO to replace its current chief financial officer, Linda Harvard, who announced her resignation in November.
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Playboy announced Wednesday that Robert Campbell, 48, currently treasurer and senior vice president of strategic planning, will assume his new position Jan.1. He has been with the company since 1992.
"The company said that it has hired BridgeGate LLC to lead its search for a permanent chief financial officer and it will be looking at both internal and external candidates," the WSJ reported.
The news comes as word started circulating late Tuesday that negotiations between Playboy and Iconix Brand Group Inc. regarding a possible sale broke down. According to Bloomberg, the suitor broke off discussions after determining it would be too difficult to divest itself of Playboy divisions it doesn't want to operate. Inside sources say talks between the two companies could resume, however.
Shares of Playboy tumbled 9.9 percent, to $3.46, Wednesday. The stock was trading as low as $1.10 in March as the media company struggled with challenges in several of its business, including adult pay television, print and digital content, reported the Chicago Tribune.
