Gradco Founder Ousted as Head of Firm’s Subsidiary

Keith B. Stewart, the controversial former chairman of Gradco Systems Inc., has been ousted as chairman of the Irvine firm’s Japanese subsidiary, a company official said Thursday.

Mark M. Takeuchi, president and chief executive of Gradco Japan, said Stewart was removed from his last position with the company during a special shareholders meeting Wednesday.

In addition, Horst Sieben, Gradco Systems’ former chief financial officer, has been removed as a director of Gradco Japan, an office copier products subsidiary. Takeuchi said the subsidiary’s three Japanese directors decided that Stewart’s removal was in the company’s best interest.

Stewart, Gradco’s co-founder, resigned as chairman of the firm in October after losing a hard-fought proxy contest waged by New York publisher Martin E. Tash. Stewart said at the time that he intended to keep his position as chairman of Gradco Japan. But Tash, who took over as Gradco’s chairman after ousting Gradco’s directors in a proxy contest, said he planned to remove Stewart from that post.

Stewart could not be reached for comment Thursday.