Chatsworth-based MRV Communications Inc. said Monday that its interim chairman will step down effective Friday. In a news release announcing the resignation, the provider of optical communications systems said interim chairman Philippe Tartavull has informed MRV he plans to resign January 13, although the company provided no explanation as to why Tartavull is stepping aside. In December, former CEO Dilip Singh stepped down, “to pursue other interests” and MRV announced plans to sell a Swiss subsidiary for about $24.6 million to a group of European private equity firms. MRV, which trades on the Pink Sheets, reported $62.45 million in revenue during the third quarter of 2011, down 5.5 percent when compared to the same period in 2010. Net income was $2.08 million, down 42 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Tartavull became interim chairman last October when then-chairman of the board Dr. Ken Shubin Stein resigned.
