Gateley‘s CEO departure has landed alongside a 44 per cent dividend cut, a redundancy consultation for 40 staff, and a debt pile that quadrupled in a year, casting a shadow over record revenue at the AIM-listed professional services firm. Martin Pike, a non-executive director since April last year and a former executive at risk advisory firm Willis Towers Watson, will step in as interim chief executive, according to Non Billable. Waldie joined Gateley through the firm’s acquisition of the Manchester office of Halliwells LLP in 2010, going on to lead its national property services team before becoming chief executive, according to his profile on the Gateley website. A Gateley spokesperson said the firm had ‘entered a formal consultation process regarding proposed changes’ but that ‘no final decisions have been made.’ The outcome of the redundancy consultation and any update on a permanent chief executive appointment will be the next concrete signals for investors watching the firm’s margin recovery plans.