Activist shareholder Bergeron urges Ethan Allen investors to back board overhaul, launch independent CEO search at annual meeting
ETD•Bergeron presses for board overhaul and independent CEO search
Activist investor Doug Bergeron, holder of 5.2%, criticized Ethan Allen’s newly announced CEO succession process as reactive to his proxy contest.
Bergeron said the board moved only after his group launched an alternative director slate and an independent CEO search on Sept. 10.
He challenged the board’s fitness to pick a new CEO, citing years of underperformance and governance failures under Chairman-CEO Farooq Kathwari.
Bergeron warned the transition could run through June 30, 2027, leaving Kathwari in charge for up to nine more months.
