SOUTH CAROLINA (From news reports) -- Ingevity's president and chief executive, John Fortson, has left the maker of specialty chemicals and carbon materials.

Ingevity didn't specify a reason for the departure of Fortson, who had been at the helm of the North Charleston, S.C., company since September 2020, but said he is eligible to receive severance and benefits consistent with an involuntary termination other than for cause, including a payment equal to two times the sum of his base salary and target incentive bonus.

Fortson received a base salary of $995,000, a bonus of about $169,000 and total compensation of nearly $5.3 million last year.

Ingevity on Thursday said Luis Fernandez-Moreno, a board member since the company's 2016 spinoff from WestRock, will serve as interim president and CEO while the company conducts a search for a permanent replacement for Fortson, who has also left the board.

The company said Fernandez-Moreno will receive an annual base salary of $3 million as interim president and CEO, along with a one-time equity award of restricted stock units with a fair value of $1 million.