Carsten Trads, the president of the amplified phone maker Clarity, said Friday he will retire on May 15 from the Chattanooga company he has headed for the past 11 years. Trads is stepping down to return home to his native Denmark to lend support to a family health issue.
Clarity was formed in 1969 by BellSouth engineer Wesley Walker in Ringgold, Ga., and was acquired by Plantronics in 1986. Ken Kannappan, CEO of Plantronics, said his company has engaged a national executive search firm to identify potential successors to Trads, who Kannappan praised as "both an incredible leader and phenomenal person."