2023-09-15 10:38:50
Logitech co-founder Daniel Borel stepped up his call for a new chairman on Friday, following opposing Wendy Becker’s re-election to the role at the Swiss-American peripherals maker’s annual general meeting computers at the start of the week.
Mr. Borel, one of three founders of Logitech in 1981, said the mouse and keyboard maker had lost its way under the leadership of Ms. Becker, who has chaired it since September 2019.
“I’m not yet a meddling dinosaur, but I’m worried regarding the future of Logitech, the company I created,” Borel told Archyde.com. “Logitech needs a new president, someone who can respond to changing market conditions.”
Logitech said Becker, former CEO of British clothing chain Jack Wills, was traveling Friday and was not immediately available to comment on Borel’s views.
The Swiss-listed company, whose share price rose 10% in 2023, said Mr Becker had the support of its shareholders.
“We are grateful to Daniel for his contribution over the past 40 years and always welcome his feedback,” a spokesperson said.
“Wendy herself – the only female president of the Swiss Star Stock Index – was re-elected as president and member of the board of directors with 96% of the votes, which clearly demonstrates the confidence of shareholders in her leadership,” added the Logitech spokesperson.
Mr. Borel, who holds the honorary position of chairman emeritus of Logitech, said he would give his board time to act before moving forward with his agenda.
“I want to give the board enough time to deal with this matter properly and humanely, rather than doing it in a matter of weeks,” he said.
Mr. Borel said he wanted Logitech’s board to develop a transition plan to replace Mr. Becker by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends at the end of March 2024.
Logitech boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic as people stocked up on hardware to work from home, but sales and profits fell sharply last year.
Mr. Borel, who owns a roughly 1.5% stake in Logitech, said the slowdown was not recognized quickly enough.
The 73-year-old said Logitech had failed to cut costs enough and there had been no succession planning to replace CEO Bracken Darrell, who left the company in June .
At the end of its last fiscal year, Logitech cut 300 jobs from its 8,200 employees, while reducing operating expenses by 17%. (Reporting by John Revill; Writing by Alexander Smith)
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