Fred Bart has resigned as chairman of ASX-listed Electro Optic Systems with immediate effect to give the colourful Sydney businessman time to focus on “his other business interests” such as the futuristic but perennially delayed speaker manufacturer Audio Pixel Holdings.

Former lieutenant-general Peter Leahy has stepped up as replacement chairman for the $600 million Electro Optic Systems (EOS), which ships military weapons overseas, invests in laser technology to track rubbish in outer space, and is building an information superhighway for the space economy.