Temporary Bosses Take Over at Bristol Retail

Acting quickly to fill the gaps left by a major shake-up of its top management, Bristol Retail Solutions Inc. made temporary appointments Tuesday to its key leadership positions.

Lawrence Cohen was named acting chairman and chief executive officer of the Newport Beach-based retail automation company. A founding director of Bristol, Cohen is chairman of Registry Magic Inc., a speech recognition technology company.

He replaces Richard Walker, who was fired Monday.

Michael Shimada, the company’s senior vice president, was appointed as acting chief operating officer. He will hold dual positions, the company said.

In addition to Walker’s firing, Paul Spindler resigned Monday as Bristol’s chairman and as a director, although he will continue as a consultant.

The company did not return calls.

Earlier in the month, N. Douglas Mazza resigned as chief operating officer to accept a similar position with an international nonprofit group.

The company said it is searching for permanent replacements for chairman, chief executive officer and chief operating officer.

On Tuesday, the company’s stock closed at 91 cents, up 50 cents in heavy Nasdaq trading.