In response to a call from Gildan Activewear shareholders, led by Browning West, for a special meeting to reorganize the board and reinstate Glenn Chamandy as a board member, the Gildan board of directors issued an open letter in an attempt to “set the record straight.”

At the end of 2023, Chamandy was released from his position as president and CEO of Gildan, a move that set off a firestorm between shareholders, the board, and Chamandy himself. Last week, Browning West, one of Gildan’s largest shareholders, announced its intent to requisition a special meeting to challenge and reverse the board’s actions, according to an article shared by SGB Media. Multiple shareholders expressed their support of the request.

Now, the Gildan board of directors has issued an open letter that, according to a press release from Gildan, will “set the record straight.” The board states in the opening of the letter: “We would have preferred to keep many of these details private, but the public misinformation tactics by Mr. Chamandy and Browning West demand a public response.”

The letter goes on to outline and address several points of contention, including:

  • The disagreement about the future of Gildan and its go-forward strategy
  • The board’s opinion on Chamandy’s leadership
  • Its response to statements made by Browning West and other shareholders

Additionally, the letter says:

“Recently, the Board has learned of new information regarding behaviors by Mr. Chamandy that took place around the time of his departure and are inconsistent with that of a senior executive. Mr. Chamandy recorded a private and confidential phone call on November 24, 2023 with the Chair of the Board without the Chair’s knowledge. Upon his departure he also violated company policies related to the safeguarding of corporate information. The Board of Directors is currently investigating these and other matters, including Mr. Chamandy’s engagement with certain shareholders prior to his termination.”

Click here to read the entire letter from the Gildan board of directors.

Jan. 10 Update – Chamandy Responds to Letter

About a day after the letter was released, Chamandy issued a response. Yahoo! Finance reports that he said it was “disheartening that the board has decided to weaponize strategic confidential information of the company for the sole purpose of entrenching itself in power, with no regard for impact on value.

“The board’s self-serving motives, designed to distract from its own recklessness, have led them to lose sight of what is truly important — the best interests of the company,” the site also shared from Chamandy’s response.

It also came to light that just days after Chamandy was released from the company, Gildan chief financial officer (CFO) Rhodri Harries sold $23.9-million worth of stock, according to The Globe and Mail. Harries made the sales Dec. 12 through Dec. 15, according to securities filings that track stock sales by company executives and board members.

In a statement emailed to The Globe and Mail, a company representative said Harries remains Gildan’s largest employee shareholder with the stock and incentive shares he owns. “Mr. Harries indicated to the company his intention to make trades as part of an effort to diversify his personal portfolio before he was informed that Glenn Chamandy was leaving the company,” spokesperson Geneviève Gosselin shared with the media outlet.