The vendor says Thomas Swidarski will assume the role of CEO in addition to his current duties as president and COO.

Diebold has also appointed John Lauer as non-executive chairman of the board. Lauer has been a member of the company's board of directors since 1992.

In September Diebold sacked its president and chief operating officer Eric Evans at the same time as cutting $50 million from third quarter revenue forecasts. Diebold shares dropped sharply after the vendor said total financial self-service revenue would be more than $50 million lower during the current quarter compared to previous expectations.

At the time O'Dell said he was taking direct responsibility for the firm's global operations. But in the vendor's latest statement, Lauer says: "The board of directors and Wally mutually agreed that his decision to resign at this time for personal reasons was in the best interest of all parties."

Diebold also says it is on track to meet its profit target of 50 cents to 60 cents a share for the fourth quarter, including restructuring charges of 13 cents a share.