Blue Sky board veteran steps down due to health reasons

Blue Sky board veteran steps down due to health reasons

Another board member has resigned from under-siege Blue Sky Alternative Investments (ASX: BLA) with Michael Gordon stepping down as a non-executive director for health reasons.

Gordon's resignation is effective immediately and his departure is another blow for the Brisbane-based company which is in turmoil following the release of a report by short seller Glaucus Research which claimed Blue Sky had "wildly exaggerated" its assets under management (AUM) and valued its share price at less than a quarter of its then-price.

Gordon is highly respected in the financial services and funds management industry in Australia, the UK and Asia and has more than 30 years' experience.

Before joining Blue Sky, he was Group Executive for Perpetual Investments where he was responsible for over $30 billion of funds under management for institutional and retail clients.

Prior to Perpetual, Gordon held roles as global Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at BNP Paribas Investment Partners in London, global CIO at Fidelity International worldwide and was joint managing director and CIO for Schroders in Australia.

In the six weeks since the highly critical report, BLA shares have plummeted from $11.52 to Monday's price of $2.73 and the company has abandoned guidance.

Last week, Blue Sky announced a second purge of its board including the exit of chairman John Kain while executive director and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Alexander McNab announced his retirement.

It was also announced that Tim Wilson will step down as independent non-executive director but  continue in his executive role as managing director of Blue Sky's Private Equity business.

The role of CIO will also be cut and be replaced by the position of Chief Risk Officer.

Three weeks ago managing director Robert Shand resigned in the first round of departures and was replaced by interim managing director Kim Morison.

Executive directors Elaine Stead and Nicholas Dignam also stepped down from the board, but will continue in their executive roles in the business.

The company has started the search for a permanent managing director as well as new independent directors to fill out the board. Blue Sky says it hopes to have these positions filled before the AGM in October.

Never miss a news update, subscribe here. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Business News Australia

Get our daily business news

Sign up to our free email news updates.

Please tick to verify that you are not a robot

 

Help us deliver quality journalism to you.
As a free and independent news site providing daily updates
during a period of unprecedented challenges for businesses everywhere
we call on your support

Make smarter investing decisions with an Earnings Calendar
Partner Content
With the US reporting season just around the corner, it pays to know when exactly to gi...
moomoo
Advertisement

Related Stories

Invest Inya Farmer turns a shopping list of farm produce into a new investment class

Invest Inya Farmer turns a shopping list of farm produce into a new investment class

Victorian-based startup Invest Inya Farmer (IIF), armed with $1.1 m...

Board exodus at Nitro software as five directors depart, Potentia takes over

Board exodus at Nitro software as five directors depart, Potentia takes over

A Melbourne-founded software group that took on Adobe in the pdf ma...

How the departure of ‘VC tourists’ has opened the door for committed early-stage investors

How the departure of ‘VC tourists’ has opened the door for committed early-stage investors

After a boom that saw investors of all stripes throw money at buddi...

Struggling WA business puts Brickworks profit under strain

Struggling WA business puts Brickworks profit under strain

A record underlying first half profit for Brickworks (ASX: BKW) has...