The issue with Mark's self-serving content on the company's history is that although it relates to the past, it should serve as another red flag for current and future shareholders.
It's a continuation of the same self-serving nonsense that appeared in the Chairman's address at last year's AGM - the same AGM at which shareholders delivered a resounding first strike against the company's remuneration report and very nearly managed to vote down the self-serving LTIP and performance rights grants.
While the videos are largely irrelevant to the bigger picture of this company's future performance, what you say about Mark's "founder/CEO story" might be true if Mark had a great founder story to tell.
Unfortunately for Mark Fortunatow and for his co-owners, he doesn't.
You don't need to have been a shareholder of MGM Wireless between 2003 and 2018 to know just how average Mark's performance was over that 15-year period.
Those that were shareholders during any part of that period know the real story. Many that became or were shareholders since that time also know the real story.
The remainder should know the real story.
It's all there on the record. It's right there in the long-term chart that serves as the ultimate daily referendum on Mark's leadership over 20 long years.
The real story also shows up in the many commitments made by Mark over the years that were never met or product concepts that were talked about but were never delivered, often with little or no follow-up disclosure.
It shows up in Mark's adherence to outdated governance practices as the company' Executive Chairman and largest shareholder that prioritise Mark's self-interest ahead of the interests of his other co-owners.
It shows up in persistent staff turnover, indicative of an inability to design an organisation, hire well, give visibility to his key people, engender loyalty and lead.
It shows up in an anaemic pace of innovation and progress, which is hardly surprising when your people keep leaving, you refuse to meet basic standards of transparency and accountability, or you're too busy sending out soundbites in press releases or reading HotCopper.
These are just some of the issues that have been holding Mark and the company back over the past few years. And in my opinion they will continue to hold the company back as long as Mark is able to exert his negative influence on corporate governance and culture without being held to account by a truly independent board.
At the very least, Mark's story (whether backstory or current) is nowhere near as good as what Mark appears to think it is or as good as what videos of this kind are intended to have others believe.
Mark's disingenuous communication eventually gets found out for what it is and has real-world impacts.
It's in the interests of all shareholders to look through Mark's self-serving presentations to find the real story.
Annual report out next week.
SPA Price at posting:
22.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
