ASA deals Blackmore’s director hope a blow

MARCUS Blackmore’s campaign to elect former Pharmacy Guild president George Tambassis as director of his namesake company has been dealt a blow, with the Australian Shareholders Association urging its members to vote against the bid.

The ASA, which represents retail investors, has released its voting intentions ahead of Blackmores’ annual meeting on October 27 and has branded Mr Blackmore’s campaign to elect Mr Tambassis “spurious”.

“If Marcus wants him to be appointed to the board, he should nominate him as a nominee director and then there will be accountability for Marcus’s role as a shadow director and George will be treated as a nominee,” the ASA said. “Whereas if George is elected there is significant ambiguity around George’s independence.”

Further, the ASA praised Blackmores chair Anne Templeman-Jones’s “strength in holding the line” against Mr Blackmore, who has about $440m of his wealth invested in the company. “While her relationship with Marcus Blackmore has been difficult, and she has been tested by it, her strength in holding the line goes to why she needs to stay,” it said.

“No one can deny Marcus Blackmore is a passionate advocate for the company he built, a company that went beyond many in building a supportive family culture. This culture is highly valued by many retail shareholders in Blackmores.

“There has been a long history of disruption and instability on the Blackmores board and we hope this can now be behind Blackmores.”

It comes as Ms Templeman-Jones sent an extraordinary letter to shareholders on Thursday, alleging that Mr Blackmore had breached the company’s code of conduct when it comes to acting with respect in the workplace.

Ms Templeman-Jones declined to be specific, saying the board was “constrained in what can be disclosed”.

Mr Blackmore hit back immediately, saying he had been “vilified” for expressing his desire to nominate Mr Tambassis as a director.

While the ASA supported Ms Templeman-Jones, it said she and the board needed to manage their relationship with Mr Blackmore better to maintain the company’s brand and ensure its transformation strategy was implemented fully.

The ASA said Mr Tambassis’s campaign had made his potential election to the board unworkable. “A board needs to be able to work collaboratively for the benefit of the company,” it said. “George’s approach and recent publicity has done nothing to make us feel confident that he can work alongside the board.”