Two shareholders urge Gildan to reinstate Chamandy as CEO

Canadian investment management firm Turtle Creek Asset Management and Browning West, both longtime shareholders in Gildan have issued a letter to the company’s board urging it to reverse its termination of Glenn Chamandy and reappoint him as CEO of the company.

“Over the past 40 years, Gildan has grown from a small family-owned business into a global apparel company with over 3 billion dollars in sales. This success is due in large part to the vision and leadership of its founder and long-time CEO, Glenn Chamandy. Gildan’s share price has seen a 90-fold increase over the last 25 years,” said Turtle Creek in its letter.

“We strongly believe the board has made a grievous error in terminating Chamandy. We urge the board to reverse this inexplicable, ill-conceived and value destructive decision and reappoint Chamandy as CEO of the company,” it added.

In its letter, Browning West, which owns approximately 3.9 percent of Gildan Activewear, called on the board to reinstate Chamandy as CEO, remove Donald Berg as chair and appoint a shareholder representative to the board to prevent permanent damage at Gildan.

Browning West said: “The board’s search criteria should have prioritised candidates with: (i) best-in-class manufacturing and vertical integration experience, (ii) a clear and verifiable track record of value creation, and (iii) a demonstrated ability to manage an increasingly global business with vast scale. The board’s CEO appointee, Vincent Tyra, is lacking with respect to each of these three critical criteria and therefore threatens Gildan’s near- and long-term prospects.”

Browning West also expressed that if Gildan does not correct its missteps, it intends to exercise its right as a shareholder to requisition a special meeting to reconstitute the board.