NEW YORK — Plagued by turmoil at the top, the American Red Cross ousted its president, Mark Everson, on Tuesday for engaging in a “personal relationship” with one of his subordinates. He took the challenging job just six months ago.
The congressionally chartered charity, America’s foremost emergency responder, has now had five leaders in the past six years, including the interim chief named to fill in for Everson.
Everson, a former corporate executive and commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, assumed the Red Cross post May 29 as the charity sought to restructure itself and bolster its public image following sharp criticism of its response to Hurricane Katrina.
In a statement, the Red Cross said its board of governors asked for and received Everson’s resignation, effective immediately, after learning within the past two weeks of the relationship with a woman on the Red Cross staff. The woman was not identified.
“The board acted quickly after learning that Mr. Everson engaged in a personal relationship with a subordinate employee,” the statement said. “It concluded that the situation reflected poor judgment on Mr. Everson’s part and diminished his ability to lead the organization in the future.”
The Red Cross board, which otherwise had been pleased with Everson’s performance, met with him Tuesday before announcing his ouster.
The Red Cross also released a statement from Everson, 53, who is married and has two children.
“I am resigning for personal and family reasons, and deeply regret it is impossible for me to continue a job so recently undertaken,” Everson said. “I leave with extraordinary admiration for the American Red Cross.”
Everson’s departure continues a trend of rapid turnover atop the Red Cross. The two women who preceded him as president both resigned amid friction with the board of governors. An interim president served in between.
The Red Cross board on Tuesday appointed Mary S. Elcano, its general counsel for the past five years, as interim president and chief executive.
The development is a blow to the Red Cross as it was making progress in overcoming image problems arising from its response to Katrina and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Addressing complaints that it was at times too bureaucratic and unaccountable, the charity overhauled its disaster-response system and the way it governs itself; its 50-member board will soon be cut by more than half.
