Gildan Activewear CEO and board resign to allow former CEO to regain power

“Shareholders have made their views clear,” the outgoing board says as it appoints nominees of Glenn Chamandy and Browning West.

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Published May 23, 2024 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 2 minute read

Former Gildan Activewear Inc. president and CEO Glenn Chamandy in 2015. Photo by Paul Chiasson /The Canadian Press files

Gildan Activewear Inc. announced Thursday its entire board of directors has resigned and CEO Vince Tyra will step down as president and CEO as of the end of the day, clearing the way for former CEO Glenn Chamandy and his backers at Browning West.

The outgoing board of the Montreal-based clothing manufacturer has appointed Browning West nominees to the board and ended discussions about a potential sale, it said.

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“Shareholders have made their views clear as we approach the May 28, 2024 annual meeting,” a statement from the outgoing board read. “The outgoing directors believe that it was in the best interests of all Gildan stakeholders for them to resign and not stand for election at the upcoming annual meeting, allowing the new board to be seated so that it can oversee the company in the most orderly and efficient manner. The outgoing directors wish the new directors, the management team, Gildan’s 45,000 employees, and its shareholders success in the future.”

In its own statement, Browning West said “preliminary results indicate that an overwhelming majority of shares have been voted in support of Browning West’s full eight-member slate prior to the board’s resignation.”

Chamandy was forced out of the company by its board in December, after 19 years as CEO of the company founded by his family. The departure sparked a very public war of words between Chamandy and the board, with the latter saying Chamandy did not have a credible long-term strategy for the company, was rarely in the office, and held few senior management meetings because he was too distracted by other activities. It accused Browning West, which owns about five per cent of Gildan, of leading an “aggressive and misleading campaign” to reinstate Chamandy as CEO.

Chamandy fired back that he had presented a comprehensive long-range plan for the company.

Both Gildan’s outgoing board and Browning West engaged in a public campaign to get shareholders to vote for their board slates, with Gildan accusing Browning West’s slate of having no relevant experience.

More details to come.

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