OfficeMax CEO Resigns

Itasca, Ill., OfficeMax announced the resignation today of its president and CEO, Christopher C. Milliken, and said it has terminated six employees as a result of an ongoing internal investigation into its accounting. The office-products retailer also said it overstated operating income for first-quarter fiscal 2004 by $5 to $10 million by failing to record certain rebates and payments to vendors. The accounting error led to the understatement of income in the second and third quarters.

Milliken’s resignation was a “mutual decision” between the CEO and the board of directors related to the company’s operations and financial situation, spokesman Bill Bonner said. Milliken will be replaced on an interim basis by George J. Harad, the company’s executive chairman.

“We are taking steps to strengthen the OfficeMax management team, and fully expect to demonstrate the value inherent in this business to shareholders,” Harad said in a statement.