Staples Inc., parent company of Top 40 promotional products distributor Staples Promotional Products (asi/120601), has announced that CEO J. Alexander (Sandy) Douglas is stepping down.

Staples and Douglas mutually agreed on the separation, according to a statement from the corporation. John A. Lederer, executive chairman of the board at Staples, will begin serving as interim CEO on Friday, June 18.

Sandy Douglas is stepping down as Staples CEO.

Lederer previously served as interim CEO in 2018 in the months between Douglas’ announced appointment and his start on the job in April of that year.

Since September 2017, Lederer has been a senior advisor at Sycamore Partners, the private equity firm that purchased Staples for $6.9 billion in September 2017. From 2010 to 2015, Lederer was president/CEO of US Foods, a food service distributor in the U.S.

Prior to joining Staples, Douglas spent 30 years with The Coca-Cola Company, including time as president of Coca-Cola North America. Before that president’s role at Coca-Cola, Douglas was the global chief customer officer.

Staples didn’t elaborate on the reasons for Douglas’ departure. The news on Douglas comes a few weeks after Staples made another offer to acquire competitor Office Depot.

“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Sandy for his commitment and dedication to the company," Lederer said. “I look forward to working closely with Chief Financial Officer Jeff Hall and the rest of the senior management team to oversee the day-to-day operations of the company and execute on our growth strategy as the economic recovery in North America gains momentum.”

With estimated 2019 North American promotional product revenue of $601.6 million, Staples ranked third on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry. The new list is due out in July.