Wow, that was fast.
Michael Goldberg took over as executive director of DirectEmployers on November 7, 2016. “Along with his enthusiasm and desire to innovate, he brings over 25 years of human resources and talent acquisition strategy experience to the Association,” the company announced in a release at the time.
“Today, I love being the champion for DirectEmployers and our mission, as well as the team members who make up this great organization,” Goldberg said in a blog post a few weeks later.
It was a historic moment. He replaced industry icon Bill “Father of Online Recruiting” Warren, who had been the organization’s executive director since its founding in 2001. The move was made as part of Warren’s retirement last year.
The length of this marriage, however, might make Kim Kardashian or Brittany Spears blush.
According to Goldberg’s LinkedIn page, as of February of this year, he no longer serves in this role. Don’t adjust your TV sets; that really is just four months as the organization’s leader.
“He’s just not here anymore,” said Candee Chambers, the newly minted executive director according to a release by the company on Tuesday. “It was a solution that was good for both parties,” she added. Chambers served as deputy executive director under Goldberg and was “unanimously voted” executive director by the organization’s board of directors.
A mysterious exit, indeed.
When pressed to explain why Goldberg had left so hastily, Chambers would only repeat, “He’s just not here anymore.”
Did he resign or was he fired? “He’s just not here anymore.”
Fair enough, I guess, as Goldberg was equally mum under the same line of questioning. He did, however, give some insight into what’s next professionally. “I’m exploring all options, but I’m focused on potentially building a talent consulting business or partnering with like-minded organizations that are currently on a growth trajectory.”
No matter how contentious a corporate divorce may be, both parties typically play nice and put out a statement saying, “We both love each other very much, and wish each other the very best, but things just didn’t turn out the way we wanted and have decided to go our separate ways.” You know the drill.
None of that here, however, which only leaves the imagination to run wild and speculate why things fell apart so quickly and so secretly.
No matter. Chambers is focused on the future as DirectEmployers’ new leader. “I’m an HR person,” she said. “I want to set people up for success, not failure. I’m going to sit back, make sure everyone is working as a team and not make any snap judgments.”