Gildan | The battle escalates

Francois Dauphin, president of the Institute on Governance, responded to the publication on Tuesday. The New York Post The report reveals that Gildan's new CEO, David Tyra, had an affair in the early 2000s with an employee who reported directly to him at another company and who today holds a management position at Gildan.

The report is based on findings from a report currently being prepared by Paragon Intel, a New York-based skills analysis and manager evaluation firm.

Gildan maintains that it was not an extramarital affair. David Tyra, 58, dated a colleague for less than three months 22 years ago. “At that time, he was separated and she was divorced,” reads a written statement submitted on behalf of the company.

This cuff The New York Post The conflict between the investor group and the Montreal clothing maker's board of directors has continued since the December ouster of Glenn Chamandy, CEO of Gildan after 20 years.

The dismissal has led to a power struggle between the board and institutional stakeholders ahead of the May 28 meeting. Los Angeles investment firm Browning West leads a cabal to restructure the board and bring back Glen Chamandy as head of Gildan. This public saga has led to intense and sometimes contradictory comments.

“This false, tabloid story constitutes a reprehensible attack by Browning West as part of an activism campaign supported by Glenn Chamandy and others to win a proxy contest, harm two people without blame,” Gildon's written statement continues.

“Activists promoting this story have fallen far short. Shareholders and director candidates following Gildan and Browning West's attempt to gain control of the board should ask themselves how they can associate themselves with activists who commit this type of seditious smear. Shame on the individuals, institutional investors, pension funds and universities who invest in Browning West funds,” it said.

Oil on the fire

Francois Dauphin said it was almost sad that the row was happening as the shareholders' meeting approached.

“We're going to think about the vote and here we are trying to add fuel to the fire and try to focus on Glenn Chamandy by discrediting the board and the new CEO. Whatever the activists think will not help the company,” says Francois Dauphin.

In a written statement sent on its behalf, Browning West suggests Press She did not play any role in the report mentioned in the report of The New York Post and states that legal action will be taken against any party making a claim.

The board acted with a “lack of care and judgment,” the firm wrote, ignoring David Tyra's “clearly inappropriate” relationship with a junior employee while he was running Brother Brothers.

The board found this “troubling” information during its CEO search process, and Browning West questioned how “directors could feel comfortable retaining a CEO who felt it was acceptable to have such a relationship with those working under him.

For his part, Glen Chamandy said he was not particularly interested in commenting on matters of personal character or David Tyra's past. “The Board conducts its audits in a timely manner and Gildan stakeholders form feedback. My focus is really on the efforts needed to get Gildan back on track after the next shareholder meeting,” he wrote.

“However, for the sake of clarity, I want to confirm that I have not spoken to any research organization and was never involved in the published report, and I want to hold accountable anyone who claims otherwise. »

Sharks in the lake

François Dauphin brings a different perspective. “We are talking about a very short-term relationship, which seemed to be the consensus in another organization about twenty years ago. Each organization has its own code to regulate relationships. If there are accusations of harassment, abuse of power or anything else, the thinking is different. »

The governance expert adds that firms like Paragon can benefit from proxy wars. “They use these wars to create reports and try to sell them on one side or the other. Short sellers work almost the same way and may have seen a similar story and sold with the hope of making a short-term profit. »

Without being officially mandated by the activist, François Dauphin emphasized that Paragon understood that he would have a buyer for his report, which should be published in a few weeks and an opinion would be provided. “Who asked for this opinion and who really needs it? That is another question. We feel there are too many sharks in this lake right now,” he says.

“We are in a situation where all attacks are allowed. I hope it doesn't go any further, because it's not just a question of stakeholders and revenge, there are also human beings. The morale of the troops could be affected both at Gildan and among the people affected by the charges. This is almost American politics. »