Corporate Officer Resignation Letter

Corporate officers are part of a company or non-profit organization’s “C-Suite” or “C-Level” slate of officials. Such titles include Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO). They are the top officials responsible for the financial success and public image of a corporation. When one resigns it can cause a major shake-up in the company hierarchy as well as publicity, either positive or negative, for the organization.

Format and Content

When considering a corporate officer resignation letter format, it is important to remember that the letter could be made available to all of the employees or even be released to media outlets for publication or broadcast to the public. For these reasons, it is vital that the letter not contain any verbiage that could be embarrassing to the writer or the company. Simply stating the effective date and expressing gratitude for the job is best.

Sample

This corporate officer resignation letter sample is from a Chief Operations Officer who is being forced to resign to avoid job termination. His situation is due to a computer conversion that he approved; however the system was inadequate for the company’s functions resulting in the loss of millions in revenues.

Dear President McLean:

Please accept my resignation from my position as Chief Operations Officer of XYZ Manufacturing, Inc., and please, also, accept my apology for the financial strain that I caused the company due to my ill-advised choice of new computer technology that was implemented earlier this year. I was lead to believe, by representatives of ABC Technologies, that the system was adequate to serve our purposes at XYZ; however, as we all know now, it was grossly inadequate. Had I conducted a more diligent check of the company and the particular product I selected, I would have discovered that the system would not meet our technology needs.

As I am the one ultimately responsible for this debacle, I am able and willing to stay on until the replacement system is up and running. I am more than willing to work around-the-clock to help repair some of the damage done by the installation of the other system and to help recoup some of the losses experienced by the company in the last quarter. If this arrangement is not desirable to you and the Board of Directors, I will depart the premises according to your direction.

I have been able to obtain a partial refund from ABC Technologies for the sections of their contract in which they were clearly unable to deliver the product they promised in the timeframe indicated in the contract. It is my hope that the partial refund will help ease some of XYZ’s current financial burden. When you name a new COO, you will find all of my electronic and hard copy files and records in order for the new corporate officer to review. Please inform me of anything else I can do to make the transition as easy as possible for the new COO and the employees as they go through this latest computer conversion.

Respectfully,

Gerald Matthews

Gerald C. Matthews