Bishop Museum is looking for its fourth CEO in the past seven years after the board of directors voted unanimously Wednesday to fire three top executives following a six-month probe into the work environment at the 15-acre campus in Kalihi.

The vote was held after board members reviewed the findings of an “independent investigation into the Museum’s work environment,” according to a news release.

The departure of Chief Executive Officer Melanie Ide, General Counsel Barron Oda and Vice President of Operations, Planning and Program Management Wesley “Kaiwi” Yoon was effective immediately and approved by a unanimous vote of the full board of directors, according to the release.

Ide did not immediately reply to Honolulu Star-­Advertiser requests for comment on the board’s decision. Yoon and Oda declined comment.

The separation comes more than six months after the board hired Barbara A. Petrus, a 39-year veteran of labor and employment law, to look into allegations made against the trio. The three executives have been on paid administrative leave since July 1.

The board declined a Star-Advertiser request for a copy of Petrus’ findings that it considered before parting ways with the executives. Petrus’ report will “not be made public to honor the confidentiality of the employees who provided information to the investigator, as well as the right to privacy of the affected executives.”

Petrus interviewed 43 current and former members of the Bishop Museum staff, and “more than half of those interviewed were individuals whom Ide, Oda and/or Yoon asked that the investigator speak with,” according to the release.

Honoring those requests and scheduling issues “significantly extended the length of the investigation.”

“Our kuleana as a board is to ensure a healthy and safe work environment for the staff whose work provides the foundation for the success and longevity of Bishop Museum,” said board Chair Wayne Pitluck, on behalf of the board, in a statement. “After thorough review and discussion, the full board feels separation of the three executives from Bishop Museum is required to provide the proper work environment for our engaged and dedicated staff.”

The board is looking to “act quickly” to appoint an interim CEO with “experience in organizational leadership.”

“The interim CEO’s immediate task will be to identify and implement HR policies that reflect best practices for large organizations. The board will also begin a search for a new CEO with demonstrated experience at the highest levels of organizational leadership,” said Pitluck.

In December an art dealer and an anthropologist filed a complaint with the state Department of the Attorney General accusing Bishop Museum’s board of directors of breaching their fiduciary duties and squandering the museum’s charitable assets.

Caroline Yacoe, owner of Pacific Pathways and a specialist in Melanesian art, joined Roger Rose, an anthropologist, to file the complaint with the department’s Tax and Charities Division on Dec. 21.

The Attorney General’s Office is reviewing the complaint to determine whether an investigation is warranted.

“No decision has yet been made whether or not to initiate a formal investigation, but we are taking the complaint very seriously and continue to look into this matter,” said David D. Day, a department spokesperson, in a statement to the Star- Advertiser.

Yacoe also started an online petition on Change.org in December titled “Protect Bishop Museum: Ask the Attorney General to Investigate Board Negligence.”

As of Thursday, 319 people had signed on.

The leadership change Wednesday means the board will be looking for a fourth CEO since April 2016.

Ide took over from interim President and CEO LindaLee Kuuleilani “Cissy” Farm, who was tapped for the temporary post following the April 2016 resignation of Blair Collis amid a controversy connected to credit card spending linked to an improper loan extended to him by the museum.

Collis was criticized in January 2016 after announcing a five-year financial restructuring plan that called for raising $10 million by selling off museum properties, including the 12-acre Amy B.H. Greenwell Garden in Kona and 537 acres in Waipio Valley where tenants currently farm kalo.

Detractors also cited the cancellation of a long-planned exhibit billed as the largest-ever display of Hawaiian feather work, which was scheduled to appear in Honolulu from March 19 to May 23, 2016, following a run at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

At the time, Collis said the museum didn’t have the money to do it right and would work to reschedule it.

Following the 2022 legislative session, the nonprofit Bishop Museum announced in May it will receive $17.5 million in state funding for the coming year, including $7.5 million for operations and $10 million for capital improvement projects to cover deferred maintenance, fire protection, infrastructure upgrades and security and other needs, according to a news release.