CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI) announced President and CEO Scott Freidheim resigned from the firm to pursue other, non-competitive business interests. The board of directors accepted his resignation Sept. 16.
The engineering and IT staffing provider immediately promoted CFO Michael Castleman to president, and he will serve as interim CEO while the board selects a permanent CEO.
CDI named Freidheim as CEO in August 2014. Prior to CDI, Freidheim since 2011 was vice chairman-post acquisition management (Europe) at Investcorp International, which assists high net-worth individuals and institutions in the Gulf States invest in the West. His past roles also included president of Kenmore, Craftsman and Diehard at Sears, as well as several executive positions at Lehman Brothers.
“Under Scott’s direction, we established our strategic road map, strengthened our leadership team, improved our client service and retention, completed our first strategic acquisition and expanded our financial capacity,” said Walter Garrison, chairman of the CDI board of directors and the founder of the company. “The board appreciates Scott’s leadership during a time marked by challenges within our market and client footprint. We are also grateful to Michael Castleman for agreeing to accept the additional responsibilities of President and interim CEO.”
Castleman joined CDI in October 2014 as executive VP, corporate development and operations, and was promoted to CFO in March 2015. He was previously president of Kenmore, Craftsman and Diehard brands. He initially joined Kenmore, Craftsman and Diehard as CFO. Prior to that, he founded or co-founded several investment firms, including Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, the venture capital affiliate of Lehman Brothers Holdings, where he served as managing director and co-head.
CDI ranks No. 20 on Staffing Industry Analysts’ list of largest staffing firms in the US. It also ranks No. 5 on the list of largest US engineering staffing providers, and No. 20 on the list of largest US providers of IT staffing.
