Celadon continues to reshape executive office with new CFO

Indianapolis-based Celadon Group Inc. has replaced its chief financial officer as the company works through a series of financial and operational challenges.

The trucking company announced Monday morning that it had appointed long-time transportation industry analyst Thom Albrecht as executive vice president and chief financial and strategy officer.

Albrecht replaces the company’s previous CFO, Bobby Peavler. Peavler had been with Celadon since 2004 and became CFO in June 2015.

Celadon, in a written statement, said Peavler “will continue to be a resource for the company” but did not elaborate on his future role.

Albrecht spent the past year as president of Sword & Sea Transport Advisors LLC, a Richmond, Virginia-based consulting company.

From 2000 to 2016, he was a managing director at both BB&T Capital Markets and Stephens Inc., focusing on equity research covering trucking, intermodal and transportation suppliers. He began his career in 1986 as an equity analyst at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc.

“Having covered Celadon and its peers for nearly three decades, I feel uniquely positioned to impact key challenges facing the company. My three main areas of focus will be business strategy, profitability and timely and transparent financial reporting,” Albrecht said in a written statement.

The appointment is the latest change to Celadon's executive offices as it deals with financial challenges.

In May, Celadon announced that its financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, and the two subsequent quarters should not be relied upon because of questions raised by its auditor, BKD LLC. The board of directors hired three outside firms to do an independent investigation of the matter. The company has not yet issued amended financial statements and says it does not expect to do so before the end of this year.

Earlier this month, Celadon also disclosed that it is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Aside from these accounting issues, Celadon has been grappling with poor financial performance in certain areas of the company, including its core trucking business.

Celadon has taken numerous steps to try and turn things around. It bought on a new CEO, Paul Svindland, in July and promoted Jon Russell to the position of president and chief operating officer to replace the departing Eric Meek. Russell is the son of the company’s late founder, Steve Russell.

The company has also taken steps to exit unprofitable lines of business. In recent weeks, Celadon has announced the sale of its flatbed truck division and an exit from its Quality Companies equipment leasing business. Celadon is also in the process of outsourcing the operations of its three driver training school sites.