Tom Garfinkel, Padres CEO, resigns

SAN DIEGO -- Padres President and CEO Tom Garfinkel, who assumed the duties of CEO after predecessor Jeff Moorad stepped aside early last year, has stepped down.

Peter Seidler, lead investor in the Padres ownership group, and executive chairman Ron Fowler said in a release Tuesday that they had accepted Garfinkel's resignation.

The team says Fowler is assuming Garfinkel's responsibilities until a replacement is hired.

Garfinkel, then the Padres COO and president, assumed the CEO duties in March 2012 when Moorad relinquished them after a failed bid to buy the team.

Garfinkel remained on board when the team was sold to a group including Seidler, a nephew of former Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley.