Things are not getting any better for PulteGroup as the tension between the company’s founder, Bill Pulte, and its current CEO, Richard Dugas, continues to grow. After the dispute occurring within the company became public last week and it was reported that Dugas would take a path of accelerated retirement in order to step down from his position by May 2017, Pulte has now sent a letter to the homebuilder’s board calling for Dugas’s immediate removal and replacement, MarketWatch reports.
Pulte did not mince words in his most recent letter regarding the decisions Dugas has made as CEO, saying that supporting the appointment of Richard Dugas in 2003 “was a mistake and perhaps the biggest mistake of my career,” and calling him a “lame duck CEO,” saying he has “never experienced a CEO like this.”
In the letter, Pulte also worries that letting Dugas remain as the CEO for another year will put the personal interest of the shareholders, employees, and customers at risk. Pulte also has some strong words for the Board who, he believes, is putting the “optics” of Dugas’s departure ahead of what is best for the company.
He continues, “With Richard's uniquely disastrous track record of cumulatively losing so much money, the board is telling shareholders just how out of touch they are.”
Over the past year, PulteGroup’s stock has fallen 20 percent.
To read Pulte’s full letter to the Board regarding Dugas’s removal, click here.
