Martha Stewart, the former stockbroker who built a media company around her homemaking prowess, quit the board of the New York Stock Exchange amid an investigation into her sale of ImClone Systems Inc shares.
The 61-year-old Stewart's resignation is a sign the insider-trading probe is hurting her image, some analysts said. In July she gave up her appearances on CBS television's "the Early Show" because she didn't want to answer questions about the probe.
"The NYSE must have members on the board who are above suspicion and reproach of any kind and obviously she doesn't fit that category at this point in time," said Hal Vogel, a media analyst with Vogel Capital, which doesn't own shares of Martha Stewart Living. "It's to be expected that the best thing for her to do is resign." The exchange board's nominating committee will meet to select a potential replacement over the next few weeks for the board to consider at its December meeting, NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso said. Stewart, who became an NYSE director in June, submitted her resignation yesterday in a note, he said at a news conference after the 27-member board met. The resignation was voluntary, he said.
Stewart faces a probe into whether she had inside information when she sold 3,928 ImClone shares in December.
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