Blucora has named Chris Walters, an outside member of its board of directors, as its new CEO. The recently named executive replaces John Clendening, who resigned last month over what the board termed “differences in views on the scope of Mr. Clendening’s authority as CEO.”
Blucora is parent to TaxAct and Avantax Wealth Management, which was formed last year through the combination of the former HD Vest and the former 1st. Global. Clendening had been CEO since April 2016.
The announcement of Clendening’s departure triggered a dip in the company’s stock price which had law firms that handle class action securities litigation lining up to say they were investigating the performance of Blucora’s leadership. Walters will remain on the board, where he has served since 2014, but will step down as chair of the chair of the compensation committee.
Walters was previously a senior partner with Activate, a strategy consulting firm, from January 2019 through last month. He was CEO of Encompass Digital Media from January 2015 through November 2018.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind
Last modified on Thursday, 02 April 2020
