Two CEOs Depart Under Vastly Different Circumstances

Cyberonics CEO Robert "Skip" Cummins is also leaving his post, but under less auspicious circumstances. He had come under fire for the timing of a stock-option grant he received in 2004. Cyberonics' board granted him 100,000 shares just hours after FDA approved the company's implant to treat depression, and the value of the shares soared the next morning. CFO Pamela Westbrook also resigned. Some analysts speculate that Cummins' departure clears the way for Cyberonics to be sold, as rivals Advanced Neuromodulation Systems and Advanced Bionics have been in recent years.