Roanoke-based Luna Innovations announces the resignation of top executive Richard Roedel due to health reasons
Roanoke, Virginia – Roanoke-based Luna Innovations, a prominent technology company, has announced the leaving of their top executive Richard Roedel in what appears to be a significant corporate development. Stepping in as temporary executive chairman and president in March, Roedel said he left for personal health reasons.
This announcement follows a stormy period Luna Innovations has been through. Discrepancies in financial reporting recently caused the corporation to be forced to postpone its annual and quarterly earnings reports indefinitely. These problems started to surface under the leadership of the former president and CEO Scott Graeff’s direction, who resigned earlier this year.
Luna Innovations’ Friday statement claims that Roedel’s decision to resign is entirely based on his health and has nothing to do with any conflicts with the firm on its operations, rules, or practices. The statement came within a formal filing to the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm underlined that after his resignation, Roedel would not be entitled to any severance or other benefits.
Roedel has been a major player in Luna since 2010; he was the chairman of the board prior to briefly assuming CEO duties. As the SEC document notes, his resignation was made effective immediately on July 12.
Warren “Barry” Phelps will fill in as board chairman after Roedel departure. Phelps will not, however, assume executive responsibility unlike his predecessor. Phelps joined Luna’s board in 2017 and has served as the audit committee’s chair as well as the operations committee’s member.
Roedel’s leaving reflects yet another change in Luna Innovations’ leadership during a difficult period. The company, which is well-known for developing fiber-optic sensors and measuring instruments used in several sectors like energy, communications, and automotive, faced legal challenges from investors. Moreover, Luna is on the verge of being delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market due of continuous financial investigations.
While Luna navigates through these turbulent times, the emphasis stays on stabilizing its leadership and resolving the fundamental problems to rebuild confidence among its customers and investors and keep its position in the market.
