Its been said that a leader is often at their most powerful and...

Its been said that a leader is often at their most powerful and influential in their first 100 days. Similarly, with new major shareholders.

As I've said before, key benchmark for me in this regard from the new leadership team (CEO and chair) is the emergence of evidence of a materially reduced headcount.

We're not seeing enough evidence of change to suggest they are having any impact. It looks to me like the CEO is a captive of the senior managers he inherited and who are going to protect their own. I suspect this will particularly be the case in Melbourne.

Meaningful human capital restructuring takes courage, resolve and a preparedness to face reality and make the hard calls.

Surveyors don't have a reputation for doing such things. Surveyors managing surveyors is never going to end well when the chips are down, when strong, 'do whatever it takes' leadership is required.

These are desperate times for Veris.

This debacle deserves greater scrutiny, perhaps students doing 'Management 101' could conduct a review of Veris entitled 'how to destroy shareholder value in easy steps', with their first initiative being to interview the board and senior management, as they have made the topic an art form.

Isn't it extraordinary that key personnel at Veris continue to be provided with rewards for destroying shareholder value on their watch (August 2016 market cap ~ $110m, today < $10m).

These guys have rhino thick hides.