By Martin Vedris
SYDNEY: It has been a volatile start to the New Year for Strathfield Group. Two directors resigned within days of each other in January and the share price fell eight per cent on 8 January and a further nine per cent yesterday.
On 5 January, Warwick Mirzikinian resigned as a director on the Strathfield Group board.
Then just days later on 9 January, Richard Poole resigned as non-executive director and chairman. In June last year, Current.com.au reported that Poole wanted Mirzikinian to stay on in role of interim chief executive until a permanent could be appointed, following the resignation a day earlier of Gerard Frack.
On 18 December, the company appointed Emil Dimitrov as the new finance director. According to Strathfield Group, Dimitrov holds an MBA from AGSM and the University of NSW and has 15 years experience in strategic and financial corporate management.
The Dimitrov appointment came just days after the company’s shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of the company purchasing the Clear Equipment Group. The company announced on 12 December that it had completed the purchase of the Clear Equipment Group.
However, Strathfield Group still has not appointed the chief executive, and have now lost Poole and Mirzikinian. The company did announce on 9 January that non-executive director Vaz Hovanessian was appointed as the non-executive chairman following Poole’s resignation.
But this still leaves the company needing a chief executive. There are also question marks over the company’s strategy regarding the Clear Equipment Group acquisition as well as its ability to perpetuate the existing business model. The Strathfield share price fell eight per cent on 8 January and a further nine per cent yesterday to close at $0.10, with no shares traded today.