Bristol Chooses Another Interim Chief Executive

Bristol Retail Solutions Inc. said Wednesday that it has appointed its second interim chief executive because the planned purchase of Hayman Systems, which was supposed to provide Bristol with a new leader, is taking longer than expected.

Bristol, which provides retail automation products and services, said in March that it had signed a letter of intent to buy Hayman and that the latter’s owner, Richard Hayman, would become Bristol’s chief executive when the deal closed.

But Bristol, which is based in Newport Beach, said Wednesday that the planned acquisition of Hayman, a point-of-sale dealer based in Laurel, Md., required additional negotiations.

As a result, Bristol has appointed Michael Pollastro as its interim chief executive and interim chief operating officer. Pollastro is also president and chief executive of a Bristol subsidiary, Automated Register Systems Inc.

Bristol has been unsettled since January, when Richard Walker was fired as president and chief executive, N. Douglas Mazza resigned as chief operating officer and Paul Spindler quit as chairman.

Walker has since filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Bristol claiming the company owes him $1.5 million, according to documents Bristol filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company has denied any liability and has countersued Walker. Bristol has also filed a claim against Spindler, the documents show.

After the exodus, Bristol founder and Vice Chairman Lawrence Cohen was named chairman, acting chief executive and president. But the company said Cohen did not have time to continue as interim chief executive because of other business interests. He remains chairman and interim president.

Bristol’s stock hit a three-month low Wednesday, closing at 56 cents, down 6 cents.