Director Nomination

As you all would know by now from reading the NOM and the Chairman’s letter, that I am once again standing for election as a Director of Empire – although as you are aware, the Empire Board is not supportive – once again.

I am standing because I genuinely believe that I can add value to the overall Board of Empire and that I believe in and fully support that change needs to occur, and it needs to occur now. To this end, I have spoken to both the other nominees, Mr Peter Griffiths and Dr John Brough, and I fully support their election to the Board of Empire and believe they will be excellent and valuable additions to the Board and I fully recommend them and hope that all other shareholders of Empire will support them in this endeavour.

Firstly, before I say too much more, I am a person who likes to be upfront and set expectations upfront, and to this end, I would like to ensure that all shareholders understand that as a professional executive and potential Board member of Empire, that my postings on Hot Copper now are more about providing honest and reliable information to as many shareholders as I can and then it is up to each shareholder to do their own research (DYOR) on that information and to make their own judgment in relation to that information.

Additionally, I would also like to point out that I firmly believe that information from Empire should always only be disseminated by first being released on the ASX Announcements platform, and then distributed to all shareholders (mail/email), at a General Meeting (AGM/EGM), or provided on the Empire website. I do not believe that an internet forum is the right method of the company communicating with shareholders. The internet forum is the place for shareholders to openly discuss and share topics and information relating to the Company.

This ensures ALL shareholders have the same opportunity to receive the information. This means that should I become a Director of Empire, then I want everyone to understand upfront that I will not be making any postings to Hot Copper whilst I am a Director of Empire. The only way to ensure all shareholders are treated equally (regardless of how big or small) is to ensure that the company complies with its ASX Listing Rules and provides relevant, timely and material information via its ASX Announcements to all shareholders equally and consistently.

However, if I do become a Director, I will certainly be doing my utmost to ensure that the Management of Empire swiftly return to engaging with all shareholders and ensuring they both acknowledge and respond to shareholder questions and queries (whether they be via phone or email) within the constraints of the ASX Listing Rules and the Corporations Act. Unfortunately, as many shareholders have seen in recent times, Empire does not appear to even acknowledge their communication let alone provide an answer.

This is eminently achievable as this is exactly what I did whilst Acting CEO of Empire – I am sure most shareholders who contacted Empire during that period would acknowledge that I did respond (sometimes it took a day or two to get back to them due to work commitments – but I did get back) to every single shareholder, with all contact being logged on a formal Shareholder Contact Log to ensure no one is missed.

I look forward to providing shareholders with further information over the coming weeks and if you wish to contact me directly in relation to my nomination to be a director of Empire, feel free to contact me directly at [email protected]

Thank you and I wish all shareholders the best - regardless of how you choose to vote, I urge everyone to at least make your vote count for what you want to happen with your investment.

Kent Quinlan