Communications Systems Inc. on Wednesday said chief executive William Schultz resigned as part of a reorganization and that its chairman, Curtis Sampson, will become interim CEO.

The company also named board member Edwin Freeman as its new chief financial officer, a job that had been vacant since the retirement of David McGraw earlier this year.

The reorganization changes Communications Systems, a manufacturer of telecommunications components such as connectors and filters, into a holding company with three largely autonomous business units.

Sampson was unavailable Wednesday to comment on the details of the reorganization, a company representative said.

"The board believes this approach, emphasizing greater accountability of business unit leaders and more directly recognizing business unit performance, will energize each business unit to improved levels of financial performance," the firm said in a statement.

The moves follow a seesaw financial performance. In 2012, Communications Systems' profit fell 77 percent to $2.2 million and revenue was down 27 percent to $104.3 million. The company started to recover this year. Through June, it reported a profit of $1.9 million and revenue of $59.4 million.

Steve Alexander • 612-673-4553