Former Neiman Marcus Group executive Stefanie Tsen Ward takes over for Farooq Kathwari in the interim as the struggling furniture retailer searches for his permanent replacement.

Until his exit this week, Kathwari had been president of Ethan Allen since 1985, and chairman and CEO since 1988. A year after taking the helm, he led a group that acquired the furniture company, named after a Revolutionary War hero who helped found Vermont, and took it public in 1993.

In recent weeks, Kathwari has resisted pressure from activist investor Doug Bergeron to give up his post, but now he is gone, sooner than he intended.

Bergeron, on the board himself after last week’s vote, for months has agitated for major changes at Ethan Allen. In the midst of that, in September, Ethan Allen announced a CEO search, though the plan was to announce a new CEO as late as June 30, the day Kathwari’s contract was slated to end, and for him to remain a nonexecutive board member for a few months more.

But Bergeron interfered with that plan when three of his five board nominees were elected, and Kathwari failed to get reelected.

This week, Bergeron, who owns just over 5% of shares, got even further. While Ward had been nominated but not elected by shareholders, the restructured board has now appointed her and three others to join them. They include, in addition to Ward, Anna Brockway, Chairish co-founder and former Levi’s executive; Lindsay O’Reilly, who has had leadership roles at Barclays and JPMorgan Chase; and Adam Treanor, managing partner of Stone Bay Capital.

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