3M Co.
MMM,
said Monday it has fired Michael Vale, group president and chief business and country officer, for cause.
The dismissal is due to “inappropriate personal conduct and violation of company policy, unrelated to the company’s operations and financial performance,” the company said in a brief statement. It did not offer further detail.
The diversified industrial company and maker of Post-it Notes has started a search for a successor.
Vale worked at 3M for more than 30 years and was promoted to the role of chief business and country officer just last month, according to a company release.
In that role, he was responsible for three of the company’s four business groups, namely safety and industrial, transportation and electronics, and consumer, covering customer operations, country governance and emerging markets.
The leaders of those three businesses will report to Chief Executive Mike Roman for now.
The stock has fallen 16% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX,
has gained 7.4%.
