Monster Founder Quits Again

Monster Worldwide (MNST Quote) said its chairman emeritus and ex-CEO, Andrew J. McKelvey, quit the board after he declined to be interviewed by a special panel probing the company's stock option grants.

New York-based Monster said McKelvey's lawyer told the special committee of the board reviewing stock option grants that "McKelvey had declined to be interviewed on the previously scheduled date and would not provide assurance that he would appear at a later date."

The news comes just three weeks after McKelvey, 71, resigned as chairman and chief executive, saying he needed to hand over the management role to someone with more time to run the company.

"At this stage in my life, I simply can no longer dedicate the number of hours required by Monster's rapid global growth and the additional demands of time associated with the ongoing historical stock option grant review," McKelvey said Oct. 9. "I believe that these managerial changes will assist the company in addressing the challenges that it faces today."

Last week, shares of the online jobs company dropped 4% in a day after Monster rolled out weak guidance for the fourth quarter. Monster previously suspended its general counsel in the options probe and said apparent stock option backdating would lead to a likely restatement.

Shares fell 33 cents Monday to $39.97.