CEO of Struggling Day Runner Resigns

Day Runner Inc., the struggling maker of daily organizers and planners, said that James E. Freeman Jr. has resigned as chief executive after less than two years on the job. Freeman, who was tapped for the top spot in August 1998, presided over the decline of the Fullerton-based company, which has piled up large losses and is wrestling with huge debts from a major acquisition that soured. Day Runner also has failed to respond quickly enough to major industry changes, including growing competition from electronic personal organizers, such as those from Palm Inc., analysts said. Day Runner hired Crossroads to provide interim management services. John F. Ausura, a principal of Crossroads, was named Day Runner’s interim chief executive. The company, whose stock is in danger of being delisted on Nasdaq, recently undertook a 1-for-5 reverse split in an effort to boost the price, but shares continued to slump. The stock, which traded as high as $68.75 last June, has lost nearly 90% of its valuethis year. It closed at $2.22, down 3 cents a share.