Former Derby County preferred bidder sacked as boss of tech firm
The US businessman who was for some time first in line to buy Derby County out of administration has been sacked as CEO and chairman of logistics technology provider Slync.io.
Chris Kirchner, a controversial figure who was named as preferred bidder of the Rams in April, but the deal collapsed in June after he withdrew his offer and walked away from the deal. He has been replaced by Timothy F Keyhoe, Slync’s former chief of staff and a retired US Army colonel, as interim president.
Kirchner, who was one of a trio of founders of Slync in 2017, had become a divisive figure at the company in recent times after he allegedly failed to pay staff for months at a time. He also reportedly suspended a number of current and former employees for blowing the whistle on the Dallas-based tech firm’s failure to pay them. He was placed on gardening leave on July 25.
A statement from Slync.io to trade title FreightWaves said, “In conjunction with the recent leadership change, we at Slync are restructuring the organization to drive more value for our current and future customers. We remain focused on moving the business forward and transforming the logistics industry with purpose-built solutions to improve operational efficiency, create sustainable growth and accelerate return on investment for some of the best organisations in the world.”
David Clowes, of Derbyshire developer Clowes Developments and lifelong Rams fan, eventually stepped in to save the club, who have started their League One season with a win and a loss in their first two games.
