Rent-A-Center CEO Steps Down

Rent-A-Center Inc. announced this week that Chief Executive Robert Davis has resigned and will be replaced on an interim basis by company founder and former CEO Mark Speese. Davis took on the CEO role three years ago, but hard times have fallen on the rental-furnishings chain. The struggles were in part caused by a large impairment charge and sales decline that, according to Davis, were the result of a new point-of-sale system. Speese has stayed active within the company, serving as chairman of the board after he served as CEO from 2001 to 2014.