The boss never came to the office and preferred to build his golf course in Barbados rather than work. This is how the Gildan board now describes the man who was at the helm of the Montreal clothing manufacturer for 20 years.
• Also read – The big boss leaves without notice: Gildan's shares fall on the stock market
Glenn Chamandy was shown the door by the city council on December 10th. At $14.6 million a year, he was one of the highest-paid business leaders in Quebec.
“He has gradually retired as CEO and focused more on his personal outside activities, including the development of a golf resort in Barbados,” the board wrote in an open letter Monday morning.
The members of the Gildan board agree: Chamandy's management style was “not structured”, the CEO “held few meetings with members of the management team” and “rarely came to the office”.
He essentially ran this major player in the apparel industry on a small scale.
“Mr. Chamandy switched from one opportunistic strategy to another […]resulting in an eight-year annual revenue growth rate of less than 1%,” the council claims.
Internal war
Glenn Chamandy has been at war with the board since being replaced by Vince Tyra last month.
“It is unfortunate that my vision for the future differs from that of other board members,” he said Dec. 11.
Less than a week after his dismissal, the American fund Browning West also launched a campaign to regain his office.
Since then, the board has had to convince other investors that the dismissal was justified.
“Mr. Chamandy spent weeks telling a false and misleading story about recent events at Gildan. Many well-meaning investors have joined this false story,” the board wrote on Monday.
The board members cannot digest the fact that the ex-boss has never been to Bangladesh, where the company invested in a large factory.
“He has not traveled to Bangladesh, a key manufacturing hub for the company, for more than a decade,” the executive claims.
Glenn Chamandy had this 19th hole built at Apes Hill in 2019. Photo from Apes Hill website
$33 million for golf
Glenn Chamandy, who owns real estate in Barbados, has owned Apes Hill Barbados, a golf club and luxury condominium, since 2019.
In 2021, he invested $33 million to renovate the course and add a 19th hole.
“Golf is much more than just a golf course. We want Apes Hill to take your breath away in many ways, be environmentally friendly, visually beautiful and authentically the best of Barbados,” he told a trade publication at the time.
The former Gildan boss also bought an island in Quebec for $4 million in 2019.
The Île au Ruau, located 40 kilometers downstream from Quebec, is known as a true hunting paradise.
Gildan in three dates
1982
Greg and Glenn Chamandy take control of the company founded by their grandfather, Joseph Chamandy
1997
The company moves its first sewing factory outside the country to Honduras
1998
Gildan goes public. The stock is now worth just over $42.
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