Richemont has seen off an attempt by activist fund manager Bluebell Capital Partners to appoint Francesco Trapani onto its board as a representative of all holders of the Company’s ‘A’ shares.
Mr Trapani is seen as a fox in the hen coop by Richemont because of his history with rival luxury conglomerate LVMH.
“He is not independent, as he has a long history of close relationship with the LVMH group and its main shareholder,” Richemont chairman Johann Rupert said ahead of this week’s annual general meeting where the Bluebell proposal was discussed and voted on.
Richemont argued that all shareholders, including those holding A shares, had always been represented and had their interests protected at board meetings.
However, the group did agree at its AGM to appoint Wendy Luhabe to the board with a specific brief to speak for class A shareholders.
Ms Luhabe has been a non-executive director for Richemont since 2020, with a focus on corporate governance, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Proposals to amend the Company’s Articles of Incorporation put forward by Bluebell Capital Partners did not achieve majority approval and were rejected by A and B shareholders.
“I am deeply grateful to all our shareholders and wish to thank them for their vote of confidence in the leadership and governance of the company. The Board can now continue to work in a collegiate manner, in the interest of all our shareholders. We remain focused on building value for shareholders by supporting our Maisons as they adapt to clients’ evolving purchasing patterns, while staying true to their heritage,” Mr Rupert said after the AGM.
“The Board believes the current governance structure has underpinned Richemont’s performance, allowing the Group to take a long-term view on sustainable value creation, unencumbered by short-term considerations. We recognise, however, that there are reservations about aspects of our governance which we will continue to address,” he added.
