Founder’s move a bitter pill

BLACKMORES chairman Anne Templeman-Jones is imploring shareholders to back her in her ongoing feud with company founder Marcus Blackmore, writing her second letter to investors in as many weeks ahead of the vitamin maker’s annual meeting.

Mr Blackmore is threatening to use his 23 per cent holding to vote against Ms TemplemanJones’ election to her first public chairmanship at the company’s AGM next Wednesday, believing the company has lurched too much towards governance at the expense of entrepreneurship. But in her “important letter to shareholders”, Ms Templeman-Jones (pictured) says a vote for her represents “stability, cohesion and performance”, following a revolving door of directors in the past two years.

At the centre of the rift is Mr Blackmore’s public backing of self-nominated candidate George Tambassis, who is the former president of the powerful Pharmacy Guild. Ms Templeman-Jones is urging shareholders to reject his bid, instead standing firm on recruitment firm Egon Zehnder’s list of five candidates.

“Your board and management have the right skill sets and experience to deliver ongoing shareholder growth,” she said. “For these reasons, it is critical we have the right leadership and team to help our multifaceted, international business grow.”