Termination of Mr. Chamandy was Hasty, Inexplicable, and Value Destructive
Gildan has been a Uniquely Successful Company under the leadership of Mr. Chamandy
TORONTO, Dec. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. (“Turtle Creek”), a Canadian independent investment management firm with a 25-year history and a decade-long shareholder of Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL: TSX and NYSE) (“Gildan” or the “Company”), today issued a letter to the board of directors (the “Board”) of Gildan urging it to reverse its termination of Glenn Chamandy and reappoint him as CEO of the Company.
The full text of the letter to the Board follows:
Dear Gildan directors,
As you are aware, for over 10 years, Turtle Creek has been and remains an engaged, long-term shareholder of Gildan. We regard Gildan as one of Canada’s great success stories. Over the past 40 years, Gildan has grown from a small family-owned business into a global apparel company with over US$3 billion in sales. It has outcompeted and outlasted many other players in a challenging and competitive industry. This success is due in large part to the vision and leadership of its founder and long-time CEO, Glenn Chamandy. Shareholders who were astute enough to purchase shares at the time of Gildan’s IPO in 1998 have been handsomely rewarded– Gildan’s share price has seen a 90-fold increase over the last 25 years.
During our long participation as shareholders of the Company, we have been impressed by Mr. Chamandy’s stewardship of the business, his strategic vision, his extraordinary knowledge of its competitive landscape, his extensive operational capabilities, and his relationships with key stakeholders and customers.
We were understandably dismayed by the Board’s abrupt termination of Mr. Chamandy, which we believe exposes Gildan to a significant loss of leadership, loss of institutional and operational knowledge, damages employee morale and potentially threatens key customer relationships.
Turtle Creek believes that succession planning is an important duty of the Board and should be conducted through a thoughtful and deliberate process, including through the engagement of the Company’s existing leadership and its shareholders. In contrast, the Board’s abrupt termination of Mr. Chamandy, appears to have been conducted in great haste, without meaningful shareholder engagement, and without considering the substantial adverse impact on Gildan’s business.
Gildan is a uniquely successful company that requires uniquely qualified and experienced leadership. We strongly believe the board has made a grievous error in terminating Mr. Chamandy. We urge the Board to reverse this inexplicable, ill-conceived and value destructive decision and reappoint Mr. Chamandy as CEO of the Company.
Sincerely,
Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc.
About Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc.
Turtle Creek is an independent investment management firm with a 25-year history. We manage over $5 billion for a clientele of high-net-worth families, institutions and wealth advisors. Turtle Creek is not your typical value investor. We are engaged shareholders focused on the long term. Turtle Creek is where the partners and our senior employees have all of their investable wealth. As a result, we are aligned with our fellow investors to an extent that few other firms can match.
For further information, please visit: https://www.turtlecreek.ca/
Contact:
Riyaz Lalani & Dan Gagnier
Gagnier Communications
(416) 305-1459
TurtleCreek@gagnierfc.com
