Financier Doug Bergeron, who will be one of the furniture retailer’s new directors, has slammed the company’s leadership for months.

Ethan Allen shareholders have shaken up the furniture retailer’s board, on Wednesday replacing three directors with people nominated by activist investor Doug Bergeron.

Board chair and CEO Farooq Kathwari was not reelected, according to a preliminary vote count. Just two of the company’s five nominees were chosen.

Bergeron, who owns about 5% of Ethan Allen’s stock, in August slammed Kathwari’s leadership and nominated candidates to replace the entire board. He is on the winning slate.

With their votes, Ethan Allen stockholders have sent a mixed message, approving nominees advocated by both the company and the investor who has criticized its leadership for months. But they do apparently agree with Bergeron that Kathwari’s time is up.

Under pressure from Bergeron’s campaign, Ethan Allen announced a CEO search in September, though at that point the plan was to have Kathwari, who has led the company for nearly four decades, stick around for a while longer. The retailer said it expected to announce a new CEO no later than June 30, the day Kathwari’s contract ends, and for him to remain a nonexecutive board member after that, until the annual shareholder meeting a year from now.

“With the activist investor gaining effective control of Ethan Allen's board of directors, CEO Farooq Kathwari's contract, which expires on June 30, 2027, is likely to be terminated early,” Telsey Advisory Group analysts led by Cristina Fernández said Thursday.

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