Charles & Colvard CEO Don O’Connell Is Leaving

Don O’Connell, who has served as Charles & Colvard’s president and CEO since 2020, is leaving the company, according to an 8-K form posted Jan. 7.

The filing bluntly called O’Connell’s departure a “termination” but specified it was not for cause, as defined by his employment agreement.

In the wake of O’Connell’s departure, current board chair Michael Levin was appointed executive chair and will lead the search for a new CEO. Levin was one of four dissident candidates elected to the Charles & Colvard board last fall following a proxy fight that ended up in court. In the aftermath of that election, longtime board chair Neil Goldman resigned.

O’Connell, a former Richline executive, joined Charles & Colvard in 2016, as senior vice president, supply chain and distribution.

The Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based company, which began as the exclusive distributor of moissanite, has weathered many challenges in recent years, including its delisting from Nasdaq last spring. It recently said it will focus more on lab-grown diamonds.

(Photo courtesy of Charles & Colvard)