Irvine-based New Century Financial Corp. on Tuesday said cofounder Robert Cole is retiring as executive chairman of the subprime mortgage lender at the end of the year.
Cole will be succeeded by Fredric Forster, now the company’s lead independent director. Forster will take over as non-executive chairman of the board starting on Jan. 1.
In 1995, Cole, Brad Morrice and Ed Gotschall founded New Century. Cole is set to continue as a director.
Morrice replaced Cole as chief executive in July.
“Now that there has been a smooth transition of the chief executive officer role to Brad, I plan to retire from my position as chairman of the board at the end of this year,” Cole said in a statement.
Forster, 62, has been a member of the company’s board since 1997 and has served as the lead independent director since September 2005. Forster previously spent nine years at ITT Financial Corp., including a stint as chief executive for ITT Federal Bank.
He later served as president of H.F. Ahmanson and Co. and its subsidiary, Home Savings of America.
