Texas Instruments CEO Ousted for Code of Conduct Breach

Texas Instruments said CEO Brian Crutcher resigned after less than two months in the job, citing violations of the code of conduct, according to Bloomberg. His predecessor, Rich Templeton, will resume the role on a permanent basis.

“The violations are related to personal behavior that is not consistent with our ethics and core values, but not related to company strategy, operations or financial reporting,“ the company said in a statement, without elaborating. Shares fell 2.3 percent in extended trading.

Crutcher is the third chip company leader in less than two months to leave his job over a breach of rules on personal conduct, following the departures of Intel’s and Rambus’s CEOs. Those resignations, as well as the broader backdrop of the #metoo movement focused on eradicating gender-based discrimination, harassment and abuse, may be triggering heightened scrutiny of the personal behavior of tech-industry executives.

The board acted after receiving a report on Crutcher’s behavior, Templeton said in an internal video address to employees. A company spokesman declined to comment on the nature of the violation and whether it was related to a personal relationship. By acting to remove him, directors were forced to go back on their earlier ringing endorsement.

Templeton, 59, returns to the helm of a company he led for more than 13 years, during which he transformed Texas Instruments into the leading provider of analog chips and made it one of the most profitable companies in the industry. Crutcher’s promotion to president and CEO to replace Templeton was announced six months ago, he just took the reins on June 1.

Templeton will most likely stay in the post until the company has identified his successor from within its ranks and trained that person, a path it typically follows. For Crutcher, as for his counterpart at Intel, an involuntary exit is going to be expensive. He could be forced to surrender as much as $43.3 million in stock awards.

At least 437 high-profile executives and employees had been accused of harassment or other misconduct as the #metoo movement has increased scrutiny of all executive behavior over the last 18 months, according to a tally updated daily by crisis-consulting firm Temin & Co. Of those, 259 were fired or left their jobs, the study found.