Diamond Comic Distributors Vice President of Sales and Marketing Roger Fletcher has left the company, CEO Steve Geppi announced in a letter to key constituencies today.  Fletcher was the third of Geppi’s original five-member core management team that built Diamond to its current dominant position in North American comic distribution to depart since 2013.  VP-Purchasing Bill Schanes left in 2013 (see “Schanes Stepping Down at Diamond”), and Cindy Fournier in 2015 (see “Cindy Fournier Stepping Down at Diamond”).  Larry Swanson remains as Chief Financial Officer, and Chuck Parker will remain with the Geppi companies in a new role (see “Management Shake-Up at Diamond, Alliance”).

Fletcher joined Diamond in 1988 as the manager of the company’s Denver warehouse, and moved to Baltimore in 1990 and was promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing.  He worked for Diamond for 31 years, a period in which the company acquired competitors, grew its geographic reach, and expanded its product categories dramatically.

“Roger’s contributions to Diamond, and the industry, have been significant,” Geppi said in his comments on the departure.  “We will miss him and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

We talked to Fletcher back in 2000, in which he talked about his history before Diamond and the market at the time (see “20 Questions: Roger Fletcher”).