Confusion over result of Castel Group board vote
A shareholder vote aimed at removing CEO Gregory Clerc from his leadership post following “deep disagreement” with the founding family over how the business is run seems to have been inconclusive, with parties torn over how it played out.
The plot thickens in an ongoing feud over who will head the billionaire Castel Group moving forward. The group, which includes the Castel Frères wine business of 20+ estates plus beer operations across Africa, has been rocked over the past few months by an internal attempt to oust its CEO.
Instigating the move are two Castel family members — Romy Castel, the daughter of 99-year-old company founder Pierre Castel — and Romain Castel, who is Pierre’s nephew. The pair claim that CEO Gregory Clerc “is attempting to take control” of the group and have publicly criticised his operational strategy.
Following a crucial shareholders meeting held this week at Singapore-based Investment Beverage Management (IBBM), a key component of the Castel Group, the two opposing sides appear to dispute the outcome.
Qualified majority
On Monday 2 February, the Castel family issued a statement saying that Clerc had been revoked by a “qualified majority” as a director of IBBM. They stated that the outcome of the shareholders’ meeting “marks the beginning of a new era of governance for the Castel Group,”, with the family adding that they “intend to draw all the necessary conclusions from these dismissals” as a first step to restructuring governance.
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However, IBBM issued its own statement asserting that it would continue to work according to the “principles and ideals of the founder of the Castel Group, Mr Pierre Castel”, who apparently continues to back Clerc as leader, throwing the company into further confusion. Indeed, CEO Clerc maintains he has a broad mandate from the company founder to run the firm independently from the family.
Romy and Romain Castel had already previously failed to remove Clerc from his role during a previous board vote held on 8 January. But despite this set back, Romy Castel vowed to try again, saying in an interview “I am very, very confident” about getting rid of the CEO.
According to Vino Joy, a separate statement from the Castel family alleges underhand tactics that stopped shareholders from voting. “Despite the fact that nearly 97% of shareholders expressed their intention to remove Mr. Gregory Clerc from his directorship, Pierre Baer, chairman of IBBM, employed various dilatory tactics to prevent shareholders from exercising their voting rights,” the statement said.
The company has said that a new general meeting will be convened as soon as possible, with an agenda that will now include the removal of both Pierre Baer and Gregory Clerc.
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