New Gildan CEO Vince Tyra met last Friday with representatives of Browning West, the Los Angeles investment firm that is leading a cabal to reconstitute the Montreal clothing maker’s board of directors in an effort to bring back co-founder Glenn Chamandy at the head of the company.
Browning West says it participated in this meeting organized in the presence of the chair of Gildan’s corporate governance and social responsibility committee, Maryse Bertrand, to better understand why the board of directors considers Vince Tyra to be qualified to occupy the position. position as CEO of Gildan.
“We left the meeting with more questions than answers due to the failure of Vince Tyra and Maryse Bertrand to address our concerns regarding the poor financial results of Fruit of the Loom and Broder Brothers Co. while Vince Tyra held a leadership position in each of these companies,” says Browning West.
Gildan caused a surprise by dismissing Glenn Chamandy on December 10, who had been CEO for 20 years. The board named Vince Tyra, a former Fruit of the Loom executive, to replace him. The decision was justified by differences related to the succession plan and by emphasizing that Glenn Chamandy wanted to move forward with a risky multi-billion dollar acquisition strategy.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Glenn Chamandy
The dismissal sparked a power struggle between the board and institutional shareholders. Browning West, in particular, wants to replace 8 of the 11 directors currently on the Gildan board, including Maryse Bertrand.
Gildan had recently offered to hold a meeting with Browning West with Vince Tyra and requested to meet with the candidates proposed by Browning West in order to better understand their points of view and the relevance of their skills.
Browning West says it contacted the chair of the compensation and human resources committee, Shirley Cunningham, after last Friday’s meeting to understand how the process surrounding the hiring of Vince Tyr was conducted and said it is awaiting a response.
Gildan did not wish to comment on this meeting.
Last month, Browning West asked Gildan to promptly convene a meeting to hold a vote to reconstitute the board of directors.
Gildan has decided to convene its shareholders for an annual and special meeting on May 28.
Around ten independent institutional shareholders, controlling approximately 35% of Gildan’s shares, have publicly expressed their opposition to the dismissal of Glenn Chamandy in recent weeks.