Tami Longaberger has resigned as the company's CEO

Admin   |   06 May, 2015   |   654   |   3980

NEWARK – Tami Longaberger, who led the Longaberger Co. since her father died in 1999, has resigned as CEO and director of the company.

Longaberger parent company CVSL announced that John Rochon Jr., vice chairman of CVSL and son of the CVSL chairman, will take over as Longaberger chairman, president and CEO.

The company that Dave Longaberger founded in 1973 became a $1 billion business in 2000, when it employed more than 8,200 people.

Tami Longaberger became president of the company in 1994, while her father remained as chairman. She took more of a leadership role as her father battled kidney cancer in his final years.

The Newark-based company has struggled for more than a decade, with sales plummeting to roughly $100 million annually and employment dwindling to 230 employees, including 68 at its Newark corporate office, which had 500 employees shortly after it opened in 1998.

In a letter to the Longaberger Co. family, Rochon states his commitment to the company.

"The mission of The Longaberger Company that Dave Longaberger began almost half a century ago continues," Rochon wrote. "Leadership is hard work. It isn't glamorous. I'll promise you one thing: I will be your long-term president."

The company has had at least seven presidents, including Tami Longaberger for two stints, since Dave Longaberger passed the torch to his daughter in 1994. The company reported in February that its most recent president, Michael Somoroff, left after less than a year. Somoroff came to Longaberger after a career in photography and filmmaking.

"I pledge to give the wonderful team in Ohio and the equally wonderful team in Dallas my very best, to guide the operations of this company and to get you and your customers the Longaberger treasures, both products and the treasures of the heart, which you richly deserve," Rochon Jr. wrote.