Fox Factory Removes Its CEO and Names an Interim Who Will Not Stay

Fox Factory's board has replaced chief executive Mike Dennison, who had led the maker of suspension systems and performance vehicle parts since 2019. In a release on October 16, the company said the board "has decided to make a leadership change" and gave no other reason. Dennison also left the board. Independent director Doug Grimm became interim CEO effective immediately, and the company said he is not a candidate for the permanent job.

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The board retained Heidrick & Struggles to run the search. Chair Jean Hlay and directors Tom Duncan and Grimm will lead it.

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The Numbers Released With the Change

The same release cut guidance. Preliminary third-quarter net sales of $336 million to $340 million came in below the $355 million to $380 million range the company had given, and full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance fell to $140 million to $150 million, excluding tariff refunds.

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[Table 1]

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Pairing an unexplained CEO exit with lower numbers lets a board reset expectations once. Fox Factory reports third-quarter results on November 5, 2026, and the new interim leader will present them.

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Why Name an Interim Who Is Not a Candidate

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Ruling the interim CEO out of the permanent role tells candidates the search is open and keeps the board member running the company from competing with the people he is helping to assess. Grimm brings more than 40 years in automotive and industrial companies: he was president and COO of Metaldyne Performance Group, founder and CEO of Grede Holdings and chairman of Electrical Components International, and he chairs Blue Bird's board and sits on Lucid Group's.

He gave up the chair of the audit committee, which passes to Alan Bazaar, but stays on the board's Transformation Committee. The existence of that committee, together with the recent sale of the Marucci Sports business, which closed on September 25, shows a board already directing a restructuring before the CEO change.

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[Table 2]

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What the Search Is Likely to Prioritize

The release does not describe the profile. The board's own choices point to an operator: an interim drawn from industrial manufacturing, a transformation committee and a portfolio narrowed by a divestiture. Candidates with margin recovery and tariff-exposed supply chain experience will likely carry more weight than those with consumer brand backgrounds.

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What Other Boards Can Take From It

• Separate the interim from the slate. A non-candidate interim protects the search and the incumbent team.
• Name the search committee publicly. Fox Factory disclosed the 3 directors leading the search and the firm running it on day 1.
• Time the change around reporting. Announcing 3 weeks before earnings lets the board reset guidance once instead of twice.

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Related: what Lucid's C-suite reset signals for turnaround timing, what Copart's CEO return says about succession planning and the top retained executive search firms in 2026.