Sunovia CTO Fugerer's contract not renewed

SARASOTA — Sunovia Energy Technologies Inc. (symbol: SUNV) chose not to renew the contract of Chief Technology Officer Bob Fugerer Aug. 15, a regulatory filing released last week shows.

According to a July 15 email from CEO Art Buckland to Fugerer, the company's action was part of its policy to move away from written employment agreements.

"As you are aware, Sunovia is moving away from written employment agreements with employees other than the CEO. Your August 16, 2010 agreement is the only remaining written employment agreement with any employee other than the CEO, and by its terms, it requires 30-day's notice if it will not be renewed. This email is notice to you that your written employment agreement will not be renewed and will therefore terminate on August 15 of this year," Buckland wrote to Fugerer. Buckland said after Aug. 15, Fugerer would become an at-will employee.

On Aug. 24, Fugerer resigned from his position with the Sarasota firm.

Sunovia's executive slate has seen significant changes during the past year, beginning with the hiring of Art Buckland as CEO. In February, Fugerer and Carl Smith, co-founder and onetime chairman and CEO at Sunovia, were both removed from the firm's board of directors; Chief Financial Officer Matthew Veal also left the company earlier this year.

Sunovia develops LED lighting and solar technologies. In the first three months of 2011, the company posted a $1.4 million operating loss, as expenses ($2.1 million) failed to keep up with revenues ($750,000). The company's executives hoped to position it for profits at the end of 2009 (see “Power Up”, Dec. 24, 2009), but Sunovia failed to post a positive operating income in each of its four most recent quarters of business.

This article has been updated to include information from Buckland's email.