Cohr’s Directors Oust and Replace CEO

Directors of Cohr Inc., a Chatsworth health-care services company, have ousted Paul Chopra as chief executive and named Stephen W. Gamble as interim CEO. Gamble, 68, is a former president and CEO of the Healthcare Assoc. of Southern California, a trade group that founded Cohr in 1976. The board’s decision was made over the weekend, said company spokesman David Langness, adding that contractual “details of Mr. Chopra’s departure are still being negotiated.” Langness added that Chopra is recuperating from a recent illness. Chopra had held the CEO’s post since 1993, and he took the company public in February 1996. Under his leadership, Cohr’s revenue grew from about $20 million to $90.5 million for the fiscal year ended March 31. The board’s action followed last week’s report by Cohr of second-quarter earnings of 19 cents a share, which was below Wall Street expectations. The company’s stock, which traded as high as $28.50 in the last year, has tumbled recently, closing unchanged at $11.88 on Nasdaq.