Krispy Kreme CEO Resigns

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. chief executive Daryl Brewster has resigned amid a sputtering turnaround effort. He will be replaced by the company's chairman, James Morgan. The company announced Monday that Brewster is leaving for personal reasons.

A business professor interprets the corporate-speak: After a year and eight months in the position, Brewster was fired.

"This is not a divorce, this is more of a situation where the board is saying let's re-evaluate things," said Harlan Platt, a professor at Northeastern University who follows corporate turnarounds. "They have fired him as head coach, but he's staying on the sidelines." (Prof. Harlan Platt as quoted in Associated Press)

Investors jumped for joy as the company's stocks leaped more than 11 percent on the news. Krispy Kreme's last quarter sales tumbled and in its first nine months of fiscal 2008, it saw franchisees close some 25 stores nationwide.

Brewster will stay with the company until the end of January.

Platt said Krispy Kreme will pull through this transition, "it will just be a much smaller, focused company." "I don't believe Krispy Kreme will ever find itself again on the fast track," Platt said. "I believe they will be a stayed company, with a loyal customer base, with the potential to earn a steady profit. But that is it." (AP)