Dachis, Kanarick Sever Razorfish Ties

Jeff Dachis and Craig Kanarick have severed all ties with Razorfish Inc. , the interactive services agency they co-founded six years ago.

The childhood buddies had resigned from senior management posts at the struggling i-shop in early May but remained as co-chairmen of the company's board of directors.

However, in a regulatory filing, the New York-based firm said Dachis and Kanarick both resigned the co-chair slots on June 13. As part of a separation agreement, Razorfish said Dachis was paid $750,000 and Kanarick was paid $400,000.

With merger rumors swirling around Razorfish, the news of Dachis and Kanarick's resignation from the board raises speculation their departure is directly linked to plans to sell the company.

Razorfish officials could not be reached this morning for comment.

Jean-Philippe Maheu, who assumed the CEO post when Dachis stepped down two months ago, has also agreed to take a $100,000 pay cut.

"Effective May 1, 2001, Mr. Maheu has unilaterally and voluntarily reduced his salary to $300,000 (from $400,000)," according to the proxy statement.

News of Maheu's pay cut comes as Razorfish continues to pare expenses to stay competitive in a tightening market for interactive services.

On Thursday, the company said it had shut down its office in Helsinki, Finland, as a cost-cutting measure. The fate of the 60 employees in the office remains up in the air.

Razorfish set up the Helsinki office in 1999 primarily as a research and development center for wireless technologies, where clients could test out their new wireless roll-outs over different gateways.

But the concept was also duplicated last summer when Razorfish launched a similar office in New York with the same capabilities, including in-house training in wireless protocols for clients and staff.