Finally, sounds like there is someone with some business acumen that is steering the ship. Schapera, or someone of his calibre needed to be appointed 5-10 years ago, or at least when the negotiations started with P&G. He's taken a while to speak up, but it appears he wanted to wait until he had conducted a full review of the company before speaking out, probably fair enough.
IMO - Without actually admitting it, Schapera effectively says his review identified the company has been lacking the expertise required and were floundering around in uncharted waters with no clear path to achieving the OBJ vision and goals. This has been the case for quite some years, contrary to many opinions here, which is why we have seen OBJ unfold like it has i.e elusive/convoluted/vague announcements with no clear direction and a lack of transparency. More transparency would've showed they were out of their depth. That is now evidenced by Schapera's clear cut objectives and change of business strategy that he has released through the conference call. Clear objectives that had not been put to shareholders before this point in time. How refreshing it is to hear - although, a clear cut plan put to the market through an official announcement would be the logical next step to clarifying many of the markets concerns.
It's hardly a coincidence Glynn announced his intention to retire from the board a within less than 2 months of Schapera's appointment, unless of course, you believe in these things. Schapera brought the wake up call they needed. It's a shame OBJ took so long to admit to themselves that they needed help, as they are now a few years behind where they should be imo. Any high level external review would have identified they were swimming in the deep end with sharks. Ultimately, this has slowly led to a rather depressed SP with a confused market and an equally confused shareholder base - bar the loyal few. Hopefully that will now change, it may take some time to convince the market, but when and if it changes, it can change quickly.
New beginnings under strong leadership is exactly what this ship has needed for many years... might have been a bitter pill for some, particularly those within the business itself, but it's the most positive development to come from OBJ in a long time imo. The cost base may increase to get this "Olympic team', however, it's now or never... it'll either bring success quicker, or it may spell the end quicker - and it's worth a shot either way. Lets see if they can deliver.
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