The company said the CEO move had been underway before the downgrade announcement. The downgrade rocked the markets and resulted in one of the single worst days in the equity markets since the 2008 crisis.

The S&P’s downgrade drew much criticism from U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary Timoth Geithner who said the S&P’s decision shows “a stunning lack of knowledge about basic U.S. fiscal budget math. And I think they drew exactly the wrong conclusion from this budget agreement.”