Celadon CEO Svindland has surgery to remove benign brain tumor, expected back to work in early January

The CEO of trucking and logistics firm Celadon Group, Inc., (OTCPINK:CGIP) Paul Svindland, said yesterday that he underwent successful surgery a few days ago to remove a benign brain tumor.

In a letter published on Celadon’s website and in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Svindland said the procedure was planned and he expects to return to the office after the New Year’s holiday. Jon Russell, Celadon’s president and COO, will serve as interim CEO. Russell is the son of Steve Russell, Indianapolis-based Celadon’s late founder.

Svindland, 46, was named Celadon’s CEO in July 2017, a time of escalating turmoil at the company. That May, Celadon projected a $10 million operating loss in its fiscal third quarter that had ended on March 31. Accounting irregularities surfaced, and the problems grew worse until the company in April 2018 said that it would be forced to restate four years of financial results and that previously released information covering those periods should not be relied upon.

Celadon was also hurt by problems at its core truckload division, which led to the April 2017 resignation of then-President and COO Eric Meek. Paul Will, the then-chairman and CEO, retired that July, opening the door for Svindland to join the company.

In April 2018, Celadon’s stock was delisted from trading on the New York Stock Exchange because it would have been unable to meet a May 2 deadline for bringing its financial reporting schedules current. Today, its shares trade on the Over-the-Counter “Pink” market electronic quotation service, more commonly known as the “Pink Sheets.” 

When NYSE trading was halted in Celadon shares, the last trade was at $3.45 a share.