EarthLink president calls it quits

EarthLink President Mike McQuary has resigned his position and seat on the company’s board of directors, citing personal reasons just weeks after the Internet service provider posted a wider-than-expected first quarter loss, which sent the company’s stock shares lower, according to a Reuters report.

Apple has invested in the Internet Service Provider (ISP), which is based in Atlanta, GA. McQuary’s resignation “initially jolted investors, sending shares of the Atlanta-based company down as much as 10 percent,” Reuters reported. The shares were last off nearly 9 percent, or 69 cents, at about $7.18, down more than 40 percent from the beginning of the year.

“The stock is off sharply because it is a shock of an announcement but as people filter through the announcement and realize there’s not another coming later and it is what it is — McQuary leaving because his job was done and done very well — the stock should rebound,” Frank Gristina, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, said. Gristina has a buy rating on the stock, as does FAC Equities analyst Youssef Squali.

“Mike McQuary’s resignation is, as far as we can tell, driven by both personal reasons — he recently (had) triplets — as well as professional ones, as EarthLink has been moving toward a less top-heavy management structure,” Squali told Reuters.

Reportedly, EarthLink isn’t looking for anyone to fill McQuary’s shoes just yet. Chief Executive Garry Betty to assume McQuary’s day-to-day responsibilities. Meanwhile, the resigning president will work on special projects for Betty and EarthLink, Reuters said.

In other EarthLink related news, the company is working with satellite TV firm EchoStar Communications on “a strategic marketing alliance” to provide EarthLink’s high speed Internet access via EchoStar’s DISH Network, as we reported on April 23.

We’re told unofficially that the arrangement will offer compatibility with Mac systems. However, EarthLink still hasn’t responded to MacCentral’s repeated request for details.