GT Solar comptroller unexpectedly resigns

GT Solar Inc.’s comptroller and former chief financial officer resigned without explanation the day he signed off on the company’s annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Richard E. Johnson resigned from the Merrimack-based company on May 26, the company announced the following day. Johnson signed the firm’s glowing 10K report the previous day.The company’s annual and fourth-quarter earnings, which were released a few days before the filing, exceeded Wall Street’s expectations and – along with a recent barrage of new contracts worth hundreds of million dollars – has caused the stock to soar to near-record heights.Johnson could not be reached for comment, and calls to the company about the reasons for the resignation were not returned by deadline.Johnson, who formerly worked at Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., was the principal financial officer of GT Solar from May 22, 2009, to February 28, 2010, before he was replaced as CFO by Richard Gaynor. However he was kept on as the principal accounting officer.His compensation package for fiscal 2010 — which ended in April of that year– totaled $593,000 and included a $250,000 signing bonus. His base salary for fiscal 2011 increased from $235,000 to $247,500. — BOB SANDERS/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW