Now that Mayor Anthony Faulk has been in office for two months, he’s come to the realization that being mayor isn’t as easy as it looks. Earlier today, he announced that he would be stepping down as CEO of Jorus Technology Solutions in order to focus all his energy on running our local government.

“I’ll be honest—I didn’t know being mayor would take up so much of my time,” he said in a phone interview after the announcement. “It became clear pretty quickly that I couldn’t do both jobs if I wanted to do either one of them well. I made a commitment to this town to be their mayor, so I decided to focus on that.”

While Mayor Faulk will no longer be running the day-to-day operations of the company, he will remain on the Board of Directors in his current role as Chairman. According to Mayor Faulk, this isn’t an operational position and won’t take away from his municipal duties.

“I’m basically just a figurehead,” he explained. “I’ll still have to show up for the quarterly meeting and vote on any major decisions, but that’s it. The rest of my time will be devoted to Emerson Valley entirely.”

When asked if growing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic influenced his decision to step down as CEO, Mayor Faulk waved it off. “The plan was always to put my mayoral duties first. If anything, being forced to work from home might’ve made it easier for me to do both jobs. But I believe there’s too much at stake for me to risk it. I know my limits, and the last thing I want is for things to slip through the cracks because I’ve got too much on my plate.”

Effective immediately, Jorus Tech COO Gordon Lipsky will be acting CEO. However, he had already let the Board of Directors know that he plans to retire at the end of the year.

“I’m happy to step in while we look for a new CEO,” Mr. Lipsky said. “But I have no desire to take the job permanently. I originally told Mr. Faulk that I was going to retire at the end of 2018, but he convinced me to stay on another year to keep things running smoothly while he ran for mayor. Then he asked me to stick around during the transition period. This time, I told him I’d stay through the end of 2020, but after that, I’m gone. I don’t care if he decides to run for president—I’m overdo on a beach in Florida.”

The search for Jorus Tech’s new CEO is now underway. Heading up the selection committee is Vice-Chairwoman of the Board and CFO Angelica Narducci. Although the committee isn’t ruling out any potential candidates yet, their preference is to promote someone from within the company.

“Mr. Faulk is a champion of our community here in Emerson Valley,” she told the Gazette. “He really likes the idea of creating opportunities for local employees to advance up the corporate ladder. That’s why we created the “Bright Young Minds” community outreach program when we established our new headquarters here in 2013. Emerson Valley has been very good to us, and we intend to return that favor.”

The selection committee has no deadline for choosing a new CEO, but Mayor Faulk would rather it happen sooner than later. “A ship needs a captain,” he said. “Gordo’s a steady hand, but he’s a custodian. Our new skipper needs to have a clear vision for the future.”

-Sarah Donovan, Editor & Local News, Emerson Valley Gazette