Ardent Leisure has appointed former Walt Disney Company executive Randy Garfield as a US-based independent director, saying he was a better candidate than either of the two proposed by activist shareholder Ariadne.
As part of the process to appoint Mr Garfield, Ardent’s board also interviewed – and rejected – Ariadne’s proposed directors US-based Brad Richmond and former Scentre Group executive Andy Hedges, chairman George Venardos said on Monday. Ariadne has called a shareholder meeting on September 4 to vote on its nomination of Mr Richmond and Mr Hedges – as well as Ariadne directors Gary Weiss and Kevin Seymour – to the Ardent board.
“It is a competitive situation where they were put up against the candidates brought by [recruitment firm] Heidrick & Struggles and we made a decision purely based on merit,” Mr Venardos told The Australian Financial Review. “They had certain skills that were relevant but Mr Garfield, you would say, has more of those skills and more of the relevant experience. We need people with deep sectoral experience in the leisure and entertainment and food-and-beverage space in the US.”
Ardent plans to rename itself Main Event Entertainment in recognition of the growing importance of the Dallas-based business – which accounted for 60 per cent of revenue in preliminary figures released to the market on Friday – and in its battle for control with 10.9 per cent shareholder Ariadne, it will be crucial to convince shareholders it can improve the fortune of the company’s key asset.
Ardent Leisure has appointed the Walt Disney Company’s former executive vice-president for worldwide sales and travel operations Randy Garfield as an independent non-executive director. Supplied
The appointment of Mr Garfield, whose career with Disney included leading the company’s worldwide sales, convention services, resort contact centres and distribution marketing efforts for attractions including Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, was the first of two planned appointments of US-based directors, Mr Venardos said.
Ardent made the announcement as it advised shareholders to vote down Ariadne’s resolutions on September 4. It said two current Australia-based non-executive directors would retire and the company would achieve a better balance between local and US board members over the next 15 months.
An Ariadne spokesman said Mr Richmond and Mr Hedges both had the right skills for Ardent’s board.
While Dreamworld and its fatal accident in October last year have dominated Australian news headlines, Main Event is more important for the company’s fortune in the longer run.
“Ardent’s preliminary FY17 result was the third in a row that Main Event’s underperformance was accompanied by multiple initiatives aimed at rectifying future performance,” Citi analyst Sam Teeger wrote after Friday’s results.
“We see uncertainty surrounding Ardent’s disclosed potential for 200 Main Event centres, and continue to forecast 101 centres based on our own demographic analysis.”
Ardent shares closed 1¢, or half a per cent higher, at $2.05.
