Gildan Activewear Inc. CEO Glenn Chamandy picks up his briefcase after speaking with the media following their annual meeting in Montreal, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.. into turmoil for nearly half a year and ended with the return of chief executive Glenn Chamandy cost the company US$76.8-million, including $33-million in legal and advisory fees. The CEO calls it an “abusive” waste of money.
Mr. Chamandy said the cost is a direct result of a former board that used aggressive tactics, launching three lawsuits against Browning West and agreeing to generous payouts for executives no longer with the company. The board could have avoided the entire saga by communicating its thoughts on his leadership to investors instead of surprising them with a dismissal they opposed, he said.
They failed to convince investors there was a good reason to show him the door. A rebellion swelled up soon after, with nine dissident investors holding an estimated 35 per cent of Gildan’s stock calling for Mr. Chamandy to be reinstated.The battle came to a sudden conclusion when Gildan’s entire board of directors and former CEO Vince Tyra, hired to replace Mr. Chamandy, quit.
The breakdown of the one-time costs incurred by the company in relation to the proxy fight include a US$15.3-million cash payout to Mr. Tyra, who was in the job just over four months, and a US$9.1-million payout to Arun Bajaj, former executive vice-president and chief of human resources and legal affairs. Mr. Chamandy was fighting for a hefty severance payment, now dropped, but the company is awarding him US$8.9-million in back-pay compensation related to his reinstatement.