Hi Zabros,
Not having anything constructive to offer that would have any bearing on the events of the last several months, I've refrained from comment on this forum. I had concluded after some time that the only option for Anteo was to sell DIAsource, but publicly to call it the only option at the time was not the way to go! Anyway, here are my concerns and criticisms of the management and direction of the company over the last twelve months and more:
Dramatic loss of R&D staff over the last 12-18 months;
Seriously reduced efforts towards commercialisation of AMG;
An apparently almost total pre-occupation by the Board to deal with the DIAsource debt issue, and consequential failure to halt the decline of “Anteo Classic” – the real business of Anteo;
No clear strategic direction ahead for the company and its technology;
A CEO who showed by his actions little interest in Anteo's technology, who remained clearly wedded to the DIAsource he knew well;
Scant communication over the past year about company activity and progress, leaving shareholders quite “in the dark”;
Serious loss of shareholder trust in the whole management of the company.
Given the above concerns, the Board is failing the Company, and failing its shareholders.
The company needs re-building, and I have little confidence that the current Board knows how to do that, or has any agreed inkling of directions to take. One has to wonder whether the current Board members (excluding Geoff Cumming) really believe the technology can be commercialised. (I exclude Geoff, because of his strong track record in seeking that commercialisation, and from my sources, am wholly confident that he maintains that same conviction. He will definitely have my vote for the continuation of his role as a director.)
At the time of last year's AGM, I thought that the Board needed fresh blood. Now I think it needs a wholesale transfusion. The leadership from the Board over the last twelve months has been abysmal - perhaps that is a bit harsh, as there has been so little to observe to draw many conclusions.
I am wary of Board members being invited on as "casual"; too easy to maintain a "boys' club", too easy to stack a board, too easy to maintain control by importing a compliant colleague. At least there is the requirement that such appointments must be confirmed by a vote at the next AGM. AS will not have my vote at this AGM.
As for Rolf, who has struck me as a really nice and genuine person, why on earth is he still on the Board, now that DIAsource has been sold? He should have gone at the same time as Jef Vangenechten.
So that leaves the current Chairman; JH lives mostly over in the US. We need a Chairman who is on the spot. Board meetings by telephone are a poor substitute for face-to-face, for building mutual confidence and developing a way ahead.
One more comment: another poster on this thread commented that as an investor with a minority holding (as most of us are individually), there is not much we can do. True, and I felt that keenly in relation to another company some years ago, that shall not be named! But our social media platforms of today such as this Hot Copper site, have changed that. There is much we can do collectively, and not simply by sharing information and viewpoints. It is not that hard to gather together a group with holdings that aggregate to 5%, the minimum for submitting resolutions.
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