the last post by richard cottee

The Last Post
by richardcottee

Yesterday was the day when ordinary shareholders were given a choice. The owners of the company have spoken and their decision is final. I have been humbled by the amount of support shown to me personally and heartened by their demands for board accountability. I had a dream at Nexus which turned into a nightmare but morning has broken and the nightmare has come to be a memory only - hopefully soon a fading and distant memory. My name and Nexus are no longer inextricably linked.

What did I achieve there? Well, it did become a going concern and provided the board can concentrate on the main game - the creation of shareholder wealth and possess the requisite commercial acumen to play what I call 7 dimensional chess, it now has a better platform to commercialise Crux than when I got there. What did you achieve? You showed that ordinary investors expect a certain standard of corporate governance from the custodians of their investments – boards – and want them to concentrate on the main game of adding value to the assets. I trust the board was listening.

I have spent a considerable portion of my life in the corporate world and it has been very rewarding. Whilst my bank balance has been rewarded the most rewarding part has been the interaction with the shareholders. Yesterday I met a retiree who had flown down from Qld for the meeting. He came up to me and said QGC had provided his retirement income and he was there to stand by me. On another occasion a nurse has told me that as a result of her faith in me and her investment in QGC she could now pay off her mortgage thus allowing her husband and her to start a family. These examples to me are the most rewarding moments of my life - to see whatever skills I may possess help achieve my shareholders’ individual dreams. I am sorry that I was unable to complete the task at Nexus but it was only ever achievable if the shareholder s shared your passion and believed in your ability. The vote indicates one or two major shareholders did not believe in my ability, but obviously a lot did.

I will now disappear from the Australian corporate world to allow the wounds of Nexus (on both sides) to heal. I go in peace knowing that I gave it my all and did it honestly. This American Thanksgiving some will think I am the turkey but I advise them that this turkey is pretty tough.

As we approach Christmas may I take this opportunity to wish you one and all the best of the season and those that supported my improbable endeavour to remember it is better to have fought and lost than never to have fought at all.

Best regards,
Richard Cottee