Bart Foster out as president of Gaiam after 5 months

LOUISVILLE — Bart Foster, hired in January by Gaiam Inc. (Nasdaq: GAIA) to serve as president, is parting ways with the Louisville-based provider of yoga and wellness products and services, according to a document filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Neither officials at Gaiam nor Foster could be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to the document, Foster’s last day as president was Thursday, June 4. The filing said Foster will receive severance payments equal to six months’ salary, payable in biweekly installments and in accordance with the company’s customary payroll practices. Foster’s annual salary was $350,000, according to SEC documents.

Foster in January replaced Bill Sondheim, who joined Cinedigm upon that company’s acquisition of Gaiam’s entertainment division.

Foster was tasked with building Louisville-based Gaiam’s domestic and international wholesale business and adding product categories and distribution channels.

In 2007, Foster founded Atlanta-based SoloHealth, a company that makes kiosks that measure things such as users’ blood pressure, weight and vision. He served as CEO of the company until early last year, when he stepped down and took a role as chief strategy officer. He also served as an account director at pharmaceutical giant Novartis.

For its first quarter that ended March 31, Gaiam reported a loss of $3.9 million, or 16 cents per share, on revenue of $37.6 million, compared with a loss of $2.1 million or 9 cents per share and similar revenue in the year-ago quarter. The increased loss was attributed to an unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate.