What really happened with OLI?

I know Mark Richardson personally and have had some dealings with him (although have never done business with him directly). From what I know, he was a good operator and successful in his business career, so I don't think it's fair to allocate all the blame to him.

There would definitely have been a good reason that he thought that it was necessary to replace Jason with Greg Madigan, we can only speculate on what that would be.

The one thing that I do question is why he felt it was the right decision to pursue an IPO of Oliver's rather than a private equity transaction (since that's Mark's background). With the benefit of hindsight it would have been much better to pursue the roll-out plan outside the glare of public markets and then sought an IPO once it had been successfully executed.

I too think that the Oliver's offering is interesting and differentiated, but as I've said previously, there's a huge gap between just having a good offering and being a profitable and growing business with a rising SP.

Ontwit, now you have taken to flinging mud to avert attention to your main main.

To be clear, Jason Gunn was absent (in theory - which I'll explain in a moment) for barely nine months. He was actively involved in the leadership and decision making right up until May/June 2018, and returned at the end of February 2019. In my opinion (and I am a former senior employee), much of what brought the company to it's financial knees was instigated prior to June 2018, namely the commitment to a large number of poorly chosen sites, subsequent over-investment, subsequent closures, and subsequent write-offs. Even after Jason Gunn vacated the CEO role, the company noted that he would stay actively involved in the company and would continue to be responsible for identifying new store sites. My assertions about Jason's time in and away from the company (as both CEO and Director) and his ongoing company activity are supported by the following articles:

• https://www.jasongunn.com.au/about/
• https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20180606/pdf/43vl0p7m5xx9r3.pdf
• https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/olivers-founder-removed-from-business-201806
• https://unauthorised investment advice/food-agriculture/olivers-food-founder-has-been-shown-the-door-but-he-remains-the-biggest-shareholder/

Now the CEO is much more than just the "public face of the company" as you claim. The CEO is the company's top decision maker. Jason Gunn has been the CEO and/or Director of Oliver's Real Food for 21 of the 30 months that OLI has been listed on the ASX, meaning that Jason Gunn has been leading the organisation for as much as 70% of it's publicly traded life, meaning that Jason Gunn has been at the helm for the majority of the company's loss making moments. Ontoit, to help you out regarding the role of CEO, I have included a reference:

• https://work.chron.com/ceo-vs-chairman-29866.html.

Now regarding my "in theory" comment earlier, the Chairman may lead the Board but does not make decisions on his/her own. The Board is actually beholden to the shareholders. Ontoit, this link might help you -> https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2000/01/what-s-the-difference-between-ceos-and-chairmen.html. In fact, neither the Chairman or the Board may have much to do with a company's day-to-day management and decision making at all. Now guess who the biggest shareholder (by far) is? It's Jason Gunn. At the conclusion of FY2018, Jason Gunn and his trust companies (Hauraki Trustee Company Ltd and Taonga Nui Holdings) held over 21% of OLI stock. Therefore it follows that the Board was largely beholden to Jason Gunn and it is reasonable (in my opinion) to expect that Jason Gunn may have exerted significant influence over the Board, even if he was not a Director for a very brief period of time. This is my opinion and I'd encourage others to form their own opinion based on their own research. Again I assert that I am an ex-senior employee and am commenting based on my own direct observations, but one can verify my comments around shareholdings via the following articles:

• Page 88-89 -> https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-annual-report-to-shareholders.4444004/
• https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20171103/pdf/43nyddcwg713g9.pdf

I personally question the future of the company and it's share price performance under the current CEO, particularly given that so many employees (senior and front line) have jumped out since listing, the auditor's comments about the company being able to continue as a going concern, the residual links between the company's CEO and pseudo-science, and the current CEO seeming so very keen to continue to try and apportion blame to everyone else but himself for the company's dismal performance. So far it seems that the market has not been enamoured with Jason Gunn's return or the prospects of the company since it (finally) relisted. Sources here:

• Page 76 -> https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-full-year-statutory-accounts.5046085/
• https://ethicalequities.com.au/blog/the-problem-with-olivers-real-foods-ltd-asxoli/
• nodefamatory content can be brought into HC./p/accc-oliver-s-stop-spreading-pseudoscience-misinformation-in-your-stores
• https://www.morgans.com.au/research-and-markets/market-news-and-data/Breaking-News/Olivers-Real-Food-sags-on-ASX-return-S-1977847
• https://www.perthnow.com.au/business/retail/olivers-real-food-sags-on-asx-return-ng-s-1977847
• https://www.sheppnews.com.au/finance/2019/11/06/897978/olivers-real-food-sags-on-asx-return

Observers should do their own research, and be suspicious of posters avoid addressing the facts around poor company performance and the executives at the helm during most of the business' decline.