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The Exit Interviews Of Diamond Comic Distributor Staff In Full

The exit interviews of Diamond Comic Distributor Staff, Lee Butman, Matt Demory, Joe Lunday, Trista Peterson, Sadie Campos and Ryan Shelkett

Published Mon, 30 Jun 2025 15:57:04 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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The Exit Interviews for the six members of Diamond Comic Distributors who quit on the same day to go work for Alliance Entertainment, following Mike Schimmel, and kicking off another lawsuit in the ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of the comic book publisher, have been unsealed. And they paint a picture of a distributor that people were pretty happy working at, until the bankruptcy. Though they did talk about the poor communication, both traditionally and with the new owners, how they didn't like learning things about their jobs and the bankruptcy on Bleeding Cool, and the lack of career advancement at Diamond due to so many people staying in their jobs and not moving on. Oh and then there were the fist bumps of new owner Joel Weinshanker of Ad Populum. Bleeding Cool published the exit interviews in full, but there's also an additional note Bleeding Cool is adding to Joe Lunday's entry, regarding the mention of fellow Diamond employee Steve Warble.

Lee Butman

DATE – May 30, 2025
POSITION – Merchandise Team Manager
DATE HIRED – June 12, 2000
TERMINATION DATE – May 30, 2025
MAIN REASON FOR LEAVING – Lee left the Company due to accepting a role with Alliance Entertainment.
1. WHAT WILL YOUR ROLE BE IN YOUR NEW JOB? Lee's new role will be Buyer – Consumer Product Specialist. Lee believes he will be working for Ryan Shelkett, former Executive Director of Applications Development. Lee said he was looking for stability. He felt there was a lack of communication from Ad Populum, including that they were not forthcoming with plans and the future. Lee also said he sent out his resume a few months ago to get feelers for potential new employers. Having a family, Lee needed stability to be able to support his family. Lee also shared that he was aware Alliance Entertainment had spoken with others. He said Alliance Entertainment was at the LA Toy Fair a few weeks ago and around the same time they were scheduled to buy the Company. Those who attended flew out to LA just after the deal fell through.
2. WAS SALARY A CONSIDERATION? No
3. WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT DIAMOND? Lee said what he liked most were the people he worked with. He also said, in earlier years, Diamond felt like family. Once things began to change due to new management, Lee did his best to continue to maintain that type of atmosphere with his team.
4. WHAT DID YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT DIAMOND? Tying into his statement above, Lee felt, unfortunately, that the last ten (10) years seemed more corporate and colder.
5. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE FOLLOWING: EXCELLENT,GOOD,FAIR,POOR
A. WORKING CONDITIONS IN YOUR DEPARTMENT – Pretty good – Lee felt Ryan Shelkett did a good job, once he settled into his new role. Lee felt, ultimately, morale improved.
B. ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITY – Lee said it was tough to advance. There were "long timers" in the Company. Therefore, it was hard to see opportunities to advance.
C. COMMUNICATION – Fair – Lee felt the last five (5) months were not good. He hated that he read so much about what was happening in Bleeding Cool, versus the Company sharing information.
D. BENEFITS – Good
E. COMPENSATION AND PAY INCREASES – Good
F. OVERALL OPINION OF THE COMPANY – Excellent – If it weren't for the bankruptcy and recent sale, Lee envisioned working at Diamond until he retired.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POLICY REMINDER THAT WAS PROVIDED TO YOU? No – understood

Matt Demory

DATE – May 30, 2025
POSITION – Assistant Manager – Print Team
DATE HIRED – July 18, 2012
TERMINATION DATE – May 30, 2025
MAIN REASON FOR LEAVING – Matt said he did not want to leave the Company. He had no ill will towards Diamond. That said, he had to do what was best for him and his family. He felt that Diamond lost too many employees and the core competency…too many pieces of the puzzle are gone. He said he was not sure how Diamond Book Distributors sales is supposed to function. He also felt that too much of the industry is rejecting Diamond, and too many businesses have made it clear they do not want to continue business with Diamond. Instead, they are moving to competitors. It seemed to become a trend where others felt this is what I'm supposed to do since everyone else is doing it. Matt's impression was DC and Marvel leaving made it look easy, so others followed. All that said, Matt worried that some of those that left realized the grass was not necessarily greener on the other side. However, they were locked into contracts that they could not get out of.
1. WHAT WILL YOUR ROLE BE IN YOUR NEW JOB? Matt will be a Buyer with Alliance Entertainment. He said they contacted him with an employment offer. In his new role, he will be working with a new set of accounts. However, he will continue using his skills to manage inventory.
2. WAS SALARY A CONSIDERATION? No – Matt was ok with his salary. However, he was drained emotionally. He said he constantly felt like he was on the front line defending the company.
3. WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT DIAMOND? Matt said he enjoyed everyone on his team. He grew up with comics and wanted to do something to encourage other kids to have the same opportunity.
4. WHAT DID YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT DIAMOND? Matt said what he liked least was the software.
5. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE FOLLOWING: EXCELLENT,GOOD,FAIR,POOR
A. WORKING CONDITIONS IN YOUR DEPARTMENT – Excellent – Matt enjoyed the freedom to work independently with the understanding that guidance was always available when needed.
B. ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITY – Matt described advancement opportunities as "pretty flat".
C. COMMUNICATION – Excellent – Matt felt people were good to respond timely.
D. BENEFITS – NA – Matt said he was on his wife's insurance.
E. COMPENSATION AND PAY INCREASES – Poor – Matt could not remember the last time he received a pay increase. He understood that the Company faced tough times which resulted in no recent pay increases.
F. OVERALL OPINION OF THE COMPANY – Excellent – Matt wished the very best for the future of the new Diamond. He hoped it could survive given how many were no longer with the Company as a result.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POLICY REMINDER THAT WAS PROVIDED TO YOU? No – Matt said he fully understood our policy. He felt that Alliance Entertainment has their own systems and way of doing things.
OVERALL GENERAL COMMENTS: Overall, Matt said he very much respects Diamond.

Joe Lunday

DATE – May 30, 2025
POSITION – Director of Ecommerce Sales
DATE HIRED – November 28, 2022
TERMINATION DATE – May 30, 2025
MAIN REASON FOR LEAVING – Joe left due to accepting a position with Alliance Entertainment. Joe will be helping to build the collectibles and toy program.
1. WHAT WILL YOUR ROLE BE IN YOUR NEW JOB? See above
2. WAS SALARY A CONSIDERATION? Yes – However, he also said he was not going to be receiving a huge bump in pay. Joe added he was concerned about Diamond's future now that the sale to Ad Populum has taken place. Joe said he had a conversation with Chuck Parker, President, and was encouraged to stay but he had concerns about the future with vendors and the company, overall. Joe also said morale is very low across the organization. Ad Populum has provided no communication, leading others to wonder how much they really care about employees. Further, they eliminated the necessary roles to keep any attempt at success very limited. Additionally, Joe said when Joel Weinshanker from Ad Populum was in town and meeting with various employees, Joe's meeting with him, which he thought was scheduled for 15 minutes, lasted 4 minutes. Joe's impression was that it was 2 minutes longer than Joel would have liked. Joel came off as very off putting. Joe went into the meeting with questions for Joel. Joe walked away with the strong impression that Joel really only wanted the warehouse and was meeting with employees as a formality. Also, when Joe walked into the meeting, Joel fist bumped him and then proceeded to read his name and title off of a piece of paper. Joel then asked what Joe did. Joe explained his role in sales and read sales data information from last year. He further described the business…Japanese, Taiwan, Amazon, Godzilla. Joel asked who his contact was at Amazon. Joel gave very little feedback during the brief encounter. Joe shared that he later spoke with Steve Warble, Sales and Marketing Inventory Manager. Steve told Joe that his meeting lasted 3 minutes. He, too, had the same impression of Joel. Additionally, Joe said he was speaking with someone else (he did not share who) and that individual said that Joel told them directly "you know I did not get a good first impression of you". Joel later changed his tune when he admitted to needing the person. Joe also said that he was told that Mike Schimmel and Tim Lenaghan were forced by Joel to make snap staff decisions…keep vs who to let go. This was hard for them to do given that many of the staff are in various departments. Therefore, Mike and Tim did not have strong knowledge of good vs bad. They felt like that had to make random decisions vs well thought out.
3. WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT DIAMOND? Joe said what he liked most were the people. He also enjoyed being able to maximize sales.
4. WHAT DID YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT DIAMOND? Joe said, long term, he always struggled with pay. He felt Diamond lost a lot of good people due to the low pay they provided. Further the pay did not always match the talent.
5. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE FOLLOWING: EXCELLENT,GOOD,FAIR,POOR
A. WORKING CONDITIONS IN YOUR DEPARTMENT – Excellent – Joe felt his team was well organized.
B. ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITY – Good – Joe said he started in Order Entry, then moved to Retailer Services and ultimately moved into the role of Sales Manager and promoted to Director. Joe said his only resentment was not being made a Director sooner. He left the Company for a period of time to go to Funko. It was when he returned that he was made a Director.
C. COMMUNICATION – Poor – Joe said he spoke quite a bit recently with Chuck Parker. Joe felt Chuck was trying very hard. He felt bad for Chuck as he wanted to give feedback but needs guidance from the new owners to let people know what is going on.
D. BENEFITS – Good – Joe said he only participated in the 401K plan since he is on his wife's insurance. He also felt the vacation and sick time was generous.
E. COMPENSATION AND PAY INCREASES – Joe said this was tough to answer. He felt it went through a lot of phases and, unfortunately, many people went without raises for a long time. Further, as stated above, many were underpaid for the work they did.
F. OVERALL OPINION OF THE COMPANY – Good – Joe said he believed in Diamond. He said there was a reason he chose to return after he left for a period of time.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POLICY REMINDER THAT WAS PROVIDED TO YOU? Joe said he fully understood the Company's policy.
OVERALL GENERAL COMMENTS: Joe said, going forward, he was concerned for those employees who were staying with Ad Populum. He hopes they have a future there, and hopes they are paid accordingly, particularly given the reduction in staff which will result in more work. Also, Joe pointed out that he was told he would be receiving a retention bonus of 10% of his salary, which he said was $9,300. He would like to know when he will receive this.

ADDITIONAL: Steve Warble, Diamond Sales and Marketing Inventory Manager posted to Daniel Best's Substack, who has also posted these exit interviews, saying "For the record, my meeting with Joel was only about 5 minutes, but I deny ever saying that I thought Joel only wanted us for the warehouse. I did say that another employee who I won't name had said that exact thing. I am also furious that my name has been dragged into this without anyone asking me" also adding "I am not angry at you or any other journalist that quotes the legal documents, and there is no need to redact anything. I am not even angry at Joe Lunday, as I know he is an honest man and I am sure he stated the conversation as he remembered it. I am angry that those documents misrepresent my position and the conversation as I remember it." If there are any other people mentioned who want similar additional statements of added context, please let me know.

Trista Peterson

DATE – May 30, 2025
POSITION – Sales Manager
DATE HIRED – April 17, 2023
TERMINATION DATE – May 30, 2025
MAIN REASON FOR LEAVING – Trista left the Company due to accepting a position with Alliance Entertainment. Trista stressed, without being asked, that Mike Schimmel, former Vice President of Sales, did not poach her to join Alliance Entertainment. She said she had applied to Alliance Entertainment months ago to see if there were any Buyer positions. Trista said that Alliance Entertainment started "sniffing around" at the recent Toy Fair. She said they reached out to her to discuss joining their Company.
1. WHAT WILL YOUR ROLE BE IN YOUR NEW JOB? Trista's new role will be Director of Sales – Collectibles Division
2. WAS SALARY A CONSIDERATION? Trista said salary is always a consideration when determining future in a current role. That said, Trista was actually focused on the title, as she said her goal has always been on a new title to show growth.
3. WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT DIAMOND? Trista said she came to Diamond to learn and was proud to say she did. She has always had a passion for the market. She also loved taking care of small accounts. Trista also said she wished nothing but the best for "new" Diamond. And she said, "as silly as it sounds…she loved the name Diamond".
4. WHAT DID YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT DIAMOND? Trista said communication lacked and seemed siloed, particularly over the last few months. She found it frustrating that information was not shared with employees. Instead, information was learned from Bleeding Cool and ICV2. Because information was on the internet, retailers contacted Trista and her team. However, they were not able to answer questions.
5. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE FOLLOWING: EXCELLENT,GOOD,FAIR,POOR
A. WORKING CONDITIONS IN YOUR DEPARTMENT – Good
B. ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITY – Fair – As stated earlier, Trista was focused on titles. She said she came to Diamond with the hopes of becoming a Director, as this was a personal goal of hers. She did admit she could have communicated better so others knew what her goal was.
C. COMMUNICATION – Poor – See above
D. BENEFITS – Good
E. COMPENSATION AND PAY INCREASES – Poor – Trista said she took a $40,000 pay cut to come to Diamond. She also felt the commission structure should be reevaluated. She felt the Sales Reps are clearly underpaid in this area for the work they do and sales that they make.
F. OVERALL OPINION OF THE COMPANY – Good – Trista only wished the best for the future of the Company. She loved Diamond and what it did for small retailers. She said the bankruptcy was truly unfortunate and hoped the new owners were successful. Overall, Trista said everyone that she came into contact with was wonderful. She said it was hard to say goodbye. She appreciated the "family owned vibe" and was very grateful for the opportunity she had at Diamond. Trista also wanted it noted that she appreciated her recent interactions with Chuck Parker, President. She said he was so nice and felt bad for the position he had been put in.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POLICY REMINDER THAT WAS PROVIDED TO YOU? No – Fully understood

Sadie Campos

DATE – May 30, 2025
POSITION – Business Development Manager
DATE HIRED – June 10, 2024
TERMINATION DATE – May 30, 2025
MAIN REASON FOR LEAVING – Sadie she was leaving the Company due to accepting a position with another company. Sadie would not say where she was going or what her new role would be. (NOTE – per LinkedIn, Sadie is working for Alliance Entertainment as Collectible Sales)
1. WHAT WILL YOUR ROLE BE IN YOUR NEW JOB? See above
2. WAS SALARY A CONSIDERATION? No
3. WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT DIAMOND? Sadie said what she liked most about the Company was the product and the people.
4. WHAT DID YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT DIAMOND? Sadie said what she liked least were the financial concerns. Sadie said she joined the Company in June 2024. Very shortly, thereafter, communication began about the cash flow concerns. That was very unsettling.
5. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE FOLLOWING: EXCELLENT,GOOD,FAIR,POOR
A. WORKING CONDITIONS IN YOUR DEPARTMENT – Good
B. ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITY – NA – Sadie felt, because she had only been with the Company for just under a year, she could not answer this question.
C. COMMUNICATION – Poor – Sadie felt communication across the companies was poor. She said she worked a lot with Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, LLC (DST) and it was like pulling teeth to get them to respond to anything.
D. BENEFITS – Good
E. COMPENSATION AND PAY INCREASES – Sadie said she was happy with her compensation.
F. OVERALL OPINION OF THE COMPANY – Good – Even with everything going on, Sadie said there were a lot of great things about the Company. That said, she felt there was zero infrastructure.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POLICY REMINDER THAT WAS PROVIDED TO YOU? No
OVERALL GENERAL COMMENTS: Overall, Sadie said when the announcement about the bankruptcy came out, she could handle that. She was disappointed that with the lawsuits up to what is transpiring now, there is no communication. She was frustrated that nothing was shared about DST being shut down after the sale and with no plan in place for "what's next". Sadie interacted with DST on a regular basis. She felt she was left to pick up the pieces with no direction. Sadie said morale is awful and stressed that a Team Hall needs to take place, so people understand what is going on. Sadie also liked that the Company allowed employees to work remote. That said, her perspective was that many people took advantage of it. From day 1, Sadie said she could have listed names of people who should have been let go due to not working. Unfortunately, some of those people were still with the Company (Sadie did not provide names).

Ryan Shelkett

DATE – May 30, 2025
POSITION – Executive Director of Applications Development
DATE HIRED – August 28, 2023
TERMINATION DATE – May 30, 2025
MAIN REASON FOR LEAVING – Ryan left Diamond to accept a position with Alliance Entertainment. He will be their Vice President of Purchasing. Ryan said they contacted him to discuss a job offer. Ryan explained that he had been looking for a new job since the bankruptcy announcement was made in January 2025. He researched opportunities in a variety of industries. However, he stopped when he was asked to stay through the transition period. Ryan also said he was told by Tim Lenaghan, Chief Purchasing Officer, if he stayed, he would receive a retention bonus of $16,000. Ryan said he continued to check the court docket and saw that the court had approved the issuing of these. Based on what he read, Ryan strongly believes he is eligible for this and wanted to know when he could expect to receive it.
1. WHAT WILL YOUR ROLE BE IN YOUR NEW JOB? See above – Ryan was scheduled to begin his new job on Monday, June 2, 2025. Ryan also pointed out that he and Mike Schimmel, former Vice President of Sales, will be working in completely different departments. Further, Ryan made it clear that Mike did not contact him in an attempt to bring him to Alliance Entertainment. Ryan said he had run into someone at Alliance, which is how the communication began (he did not mention who the "someone" was).
2. WAS SALARY A CONSIDERATION? No
3. WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT DIAMOND? Ryan said he believed in Diamond. He said he had previously worked for Diamond, left to work for Bandai and then returned in 2023. He said he came back because he loved the concept of the different product available to different stores. He was very much focused on helping with the growth of the business and he truly loved the Company. Ryan also said the coolest thing about Diamond was he got to play in so many sandboxes…Japanese, Hasbro, small boutique, etc…it was truly gratifying.
4. WHAT DID YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT DIAMOND? Ryan said what he liked least was the fact that the Company had to file for bankruptcy.
5. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE FOLLOWING: EXCELLENT,GOOD,FAIR,POOR
A. WORKING CONDITIONS IN YOUR DEPARTMENT – Good
B. ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITY – Excellent – Ryan said for him personally, he was very fortunate for the opportunities he received.
C. COMMUNICATION – Poor – Ryan was very disappointed in the lack of transparency with numbers and profitability. It made it tough to understand the financial aspect of the toy side of the business, as well as the lack of feedback on any progress.
D. BENEFITS – Good
E. COMPENSATION AND PAY INCREASES – Excellent – Ryan knew what his salary was when he joined and was very appreciative of his salary. That said, when he joined, he was told he would receive a bonus of 10-20% of sales, based on metrics. Unfortunately, that was never provided. He said when he asked Tim Lenaghan about this, Tim continued to push the topic down the road. Note – Below is the language from his offer letter. I pulled this to see what he was referring to:
"The rate for this position will be $155,000.00, to be paid to you on a bi-weekly basis. Additionally, within six (6) months of your start date, we will jointly develop metrics to be used to evaluate a bonus of between 10-20% of this annual salary. $10,000 of this bonus will be provided to you as an initial signing bonus, to be paid to you with the first scheduled pay date, September 8, 2023, after joining the Company. Should you decide to terminate your employment during the first six (6) months of joining the Company, you will be required to return a prorated amount of the signing bonus (based on the months you leave before the end of the successful completion of six (6) months)."
F. OVERALL OPINION OF THE COMPANY – Overall, Ryan was proud to be part of Diamond. He felt the Company fought the good fight. Diamond served an important purpose and Ryan strongly believed in it.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POLICY REMINDER THAT WAS PROVIDED TO YOU? Ryan said he completely understands the Company's policy and totally gets it.
OVERALL GENERAL COMMENTS: Overall, Ryan said he intended to be with Diamond for a long time. He came back embracing the opportunity and felt he could help save the Company, as well as turnaround toys and collectibles.

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