Myer investor and former founder of Swisse Vitamins Michael Saba says he’ll vote against adding Solomon Lew-backed candidate Terrence McCartney to Myer’s board because the move is not in the interests of shareholders.
Billionaire retail veteran Lew has ramped up pressure on Myer’s board over the past five years over concerns about underperformance of the company. He now has a stake of more than 20 per cent in the business and will make another push for a seat at the table at Myer this week through the nomination of former Myer Grace Bros boss McCartney.
But winning the required votes to install McCartney may be a difficult task for Lew, with proxy advisors CGI Glass Lewis and ISS both recommending investors vote against the nomination.
Myer will hold its annual general meeting on Thursday. Credit:Justin McManus
Saba is the fifth-largest shareholder in Myer, with a stake of 1.3 per cent through his Happy Saba Group, according to Myer’s annual report. He told this masthead he did not believe McCartney had the “cultural synergies” to add value as a director.
“Terry McCartney is a good bloke – [but] not the right bloke,” Saba said.
“There is also massive conflict of interests for obvious reasons, in relation to Solomon Lew being a stakeholder and supplier of Myer… Terrence’s recommendation is not in the interests of shareholders.”
Saba said he would prefer to see more gender balance if a new director was to join the Myer board, which is currently made up of three men and two women. He plans to vote in favour of the company’s remuneration report, backing chief executive John King’s recent profit results.
Lew’s stake in Myer, through his retail vehicle Premier Investments, has crept up this year to 22.87 per cent. Despite Myer posting stronger numbers in 2022, he believes there is still a lot of work needed to recover the losses investors have seen over the past few years.
Premier has been forced to mount strong rebuttals to the proxy advisors – ISS and CGI Glass Lewis – after both recommended shareholders vote against the nomination
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