What do you do if you’re the largest shareholder of a company...

What do you do if you’re the largest shareholder of a company and you’re not entirely happy with the board composition? Do you give up and just sell out and walk away, perhaps taking a loss, or do you throw a few grenades in an effort to protect your investment. I don’t know the answer.  Anybody who has read any recent media articles about Lev would know that he doesn’t exactly give up to easy.

I do pester Lev with the odd email. I recently asked Lev why he didn’t nominate these two gentlemen at the last AGM.  He told me that he wanted to give the board sometime to get the composition right.

You might recall that there was an announcement on 17 December 2017 that an international executive search firm Heidrick &Struggles were recruited to find a high calibre independent non-executive chairperson and non-executive director. That process seemed to struggle until Lev’s latest actions started to gain momentum. Some nine months later, two new directors were appointed on 17 September 2018. The interim chairman decided that he wanted the role permanently.  I am not close enough to the business to determine if he has done a good job.  Lev obviously wants change. 

Don’t forget that both the chairman and Lev were appointed directors on the same day in June 2016. Lev must have formed a view about the chairman’s suitability to perform that role.

I have never heard Lev say a bad word about Mr Rivas.If you believe in the CLH business model and are prepared to take a long term view, Lev is your friend.  His actions might even provide a few buying opportunities for you. If you are taking a short term view, there might be a few choppy weeks ahead! Sorry!