VOTINGThe AGM is coming up and shareholders have been sent voting instructions.
They are pretty simple.
Approval of the auditor (KPMG) - I voted yes (they are as good as any)
For or withold for each director.
I voted against Shani Bosman (she is the new female member of the board). I do not support selection based on anything other than ability. In my view, she has been selected because of her gender. For that reason I voted against
I also voted against Kernaghan because I don't think he brings value.
I voted for the rest.
Lastly shareholders can vote For or Against OBE's approach to executive compensation. This is a non binding vote - meaning you are not voting to overturn the current compensation approach. However you are voting to send a message of approval or disapproval. I voted against.
The current executives did a good job of keeping OBE from going under, and have done a good job of undoing the damage done by the prior board and CEO. They have been well compensated for these efforts (about $22 million in performance compensation in Q1 alone assuming they keep the share price at or above where it ended Q1).
In my view, it is now time for the management team to be compensated more in line with their competitors. ie, their fixed salary plus share options that reward management for improving the share price above the closing price in Q1. ie, a strike price based on the Q1 ending share price.
I also believe the existing executive compensation plan is to complicated. These things are made complicated intentionally, so that they are not easily understood. When not understood, they tend to be approved, because shareholders would rather believe they have an honest management team, than otherwise.
However now that the management team has received their $22 million thank you for getting the company onto an even keal, its time for a simple, easy to understand compensation plan - base pay plus share options with a strike price at the current market price. If the share price increases, then the value of the options increases.
In many cases shareholders don't bother to vote their shares - particularly if they only have a few thousand.
This time I encourage you to vote your shares. You can do it online in a few minuites. You just need the voting instruction form that has been sent to you in the mail - you go to proxyvote.com and enter the control number from your letter - then vote and press submit.