Latest news with #governance
Bloomberg
7 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Club Med Chairman Says He Was Pushed Out Amid Rift With Owner
The longstanding French head of luxury resort chain Club Med said he was pushed out by the Chinese owner due to a disagreement over strategy and governance. Chairman Henri Giscard d'Estaing said in a letter to employees and a statement that he was abruptly replaced by owner Fosun Tourism Group in a move that went against a previously agreed-upon procedure.
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘It's soul-destroying': takeover crisis leaves Morecambe FC on the brink
In the century since it was founded, only a world war has stopped play at Morecambe football club. But the 105-year-old institution is days away from collapse amid the 'unfolding disaster' of a takeover deal. The Shrimps, as they are affectionately known, are the latest victims of lax football governance rules, after similar crises at clubs including Wigan Athletic, Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield Wednesday and Bury FC, one of the oldest in the world. 'It's soul-destroying,' said David Freer, 62, a lifelong fan who has commentated on Morecambe games for 12 years for the Football League. As recently as 2021, the club were holding their own in the third tier of English football – their highest-ever ranking. Morecambe were relegated for the first time in their history in 2023 and then again last season. Now there is a real possibility the club will be banned from playing their first game in the National League, which kicks off in three weeks, and players will be allowed to leave the club for nothing if they are not paid by Friday. 'It is two minutes to midnight and it's just terrifying,' said Freer. The club's playing staff were only paid a third of their wages in June, and school proms, weddings and wakes due to be held at Morecambe's 6,400-capacity Mazuma Stadium were abruptly cancelled. The local food bank and Citizens Advice branch have offered help to employees, while an Indian restaurant fed them all for nothing earlier this month. A whip-round by fans raised £361 for the players, who politely declined the donation, which will instead go to the supporters' group the Shrimps Trust. Joanna Young, the chief executive of Citizens Advice North Lancashire, said: 'We've had contact from people who have been affected by what's happening at the football club, who find themselves in a very difficult financial position. 'Most people budget for what they're expecting to receive. Receiving a third of your wages – that just pitches people into financial crisis.' Lizzi Collinge, the Labour MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, said she had wept and barely slept over the 'unfolding disaster' at the club. There was a 'very real risk' that the club would cease to exist in a matter of days, she added. Morecambe's takeover drama began in 2023 when the owner, Jason Whittingham's Bond Group Investments, announced it was selling to the London-based investment firm Panjab Warriors, which then loaned £6m to the Shrimps. Two years of financial turmoil followed, with unpaid bills, sackings and resignations. It came to a head last week when Whittingham announced he was selling the club to a mystery third party and not to Panjab Warriors. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion In the Commons last week, Collinge used parliamentary privilege to raise a suspicion that Whittingham is using Morecambe to leverage his own finances. 'I suspect that Jason Whittingham has built a house of cards, and it is now falling down around his ears,' she said. 'Morecambe FC is being held hostage, and it breaks my heart … The likes of Jason Whittingham should never have been allowed to buy a football club.' Panjab Warriors said this week it was considering legal action against Bond Group Investments, accusing it of possible 'misrepresentation and bad faith dealing'. Whittingham has not commented on the allegations. Morecambe FC was approached by the Guardian for comment. Tarnia Elsworth, the chair of the Shrimps Trust, said the end of the club would devastate Morecambe, a seaside resort that relies on the thousands of football fans who visit the Mazuma Stadium every year. Football was a 'common thread' that held the town together, she said. 'It's the one place where 3,000 people meet regularly to share experience. I've got members who've been doing that for 60 years. For some people it's the only contact they have with other people.' Outside the stadium, lifelong fan Mike Gibson, 58, said he had been watching his beloved Shrimps for 43 years. 'All that time could just disappear and could all be ripped away from you,' he said. 'It just feels like losing a family member. It's a deep part of your life.'
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
RM Funds launches attack on Gore Street Energy Storage Fund in bid to oust directors
A multi-million-pound investment trust has found itself embroiled in a fight with a major investor which is seeking to overhaul its board following a slump in the share price. The Gore Street Energy Storage Fund, which invests in massive battery projects in the UK and other countries such as the US and Germany, is listed on London's main stock market and is worth £323m. But RM Funds, the firm's second-largest investor, launched an attack on the business on Wednesday evening, calling a shareholder meeting to oust two of its directors and install hand-picked replacements after private talks between the two sides broke down. In a statement to the stock market on Wednesday evening, RM accused Gore Street's board of presiding over a 'sustained underperformance' in the share price, which has fallen 46pc over the last three years, as well as citing 'ongoing concerns' about the firm's governance and strategy. The fund manager, which holds a 5pc stake in Gore Street, said it had been in talks with the company for over six months but its proposals for a boardroom overhaul had been rejected, leaving it with 'no choice' but to table a shareholder meeting. RM has called for two of the firm's non-executive directors, Patrick Cox and Caroline Banszky, to be removed and replaced with its own nominees in order to 'restore shareholder confidence.' It has also proposed that Gore Street sell some of its assets and appoint advisors to evaluate options for a potential sale or merger of the business. 'RM believes a refreshed board - unconnected to past strategic decisions - is best placed to lead a credible, independent review of the company's options,' the fund manager said. Gore Street did not respond to a request for comment. The assault means Gore Street now joins a growing list of London-listed investment trusts that have found themselves under pressure from activist investors. Late last year, seven trusts found themselves under attack from US hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein, who called on investors to oust the boards of their respective trusts and appoint himself and his allies in their place. In the end, shareholders rejected his campaign with votes at all seven trusts ending in defeat for Weinstein's firm Saba Capital.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Datamaran Launches Datamaran Suite to Power Always-On ESG Strategy
New IROs Benchmarking Module and Multiple Reviewers Feature Deliver Greater Oversight and Strategic Clarity NEW YORK and LONDON, July 16, 2025 /CNW/ -- Today, Datamaran, the market leader in AI-powered risk and governance tools, announced the launch of Datamaran Suite – a powerful, modular platform designed to equip companies with everything they need to run an always-on ESG strategy. Built on the foundation of Datamaran Core, Suite introduces new tools for benchmarking, governance, and decision-making, including the highly anticipated IROs Benchmarking module. Additionally, Datamaran has enhanced its Materiality workflow with a new Multiple Reviewers feature. "Datamaran Suite brings together audit-ready materiality analysis with powerful benchmarking and collaboration tools – enabling cross-functional teams to make boardroom-ready decisions backed by insights into best practices, regulatory developments, and peer trends," said Marjella Lecourt-Alma, CEO and co-founder at Datamaran. Introducing IROs Benchmarking: The Ultimate Peer Insights At the center of the Suite's expanded capabilities is IROs Benchmarking, a new module that allows companies to compare their disclosed impacts, risks, and opportunities (IROs) against those of peers across industries and geographies. This intelligence enables alignment with industry norms, highlights disclosure gaps, and strengthens internal governance by equipping executives with evidence-backed insights. "Your IRO disclosures are a reflection of your strategic priorities," added Lecourt-Alma. "With Datamaran Suite, companies gain a clear view of how their disclosures stack up and, just as importantly, they get a scalable system that reflects the complexity of ESG today. Our clients tell us they value the efficiency of having materiality, regulatory monitoring, and benchmarking in one place. At the same time, we're listening closely to those who want even more tailored insights and specialized support, and we're building with those in mind." New Feature: Multiple Reviewers for Enhanced IRO Evaluation Alongside IROs Benchmarking, Datamaran has also rolled out a major upgrade to its Materiality Analysis workflow, which is part of Core and Suite: the Multiple Reviewers feature. This enhancement allows companies to assign up to 25 reviewers per topic when evaluating IROs. By incorporating diverse internal perspectives, organizations benefit from more thorough and consistent assessments. The platform's built-in scoring logic calculates average scores automatically once all assessments are complete, providing a transparent and robust output for audit and governance purposes. The Advantage of Suite: One Platform, Total Oversight Datamaran Suite integrates Core's AI-powered materiality capabilities with new governance tools, including: Topics Benchmarking – Understand how peers frame ESG issues to refine strategy Target Setting – Develop evidence-based ESG goals rooted in stakeholder expectations Harbor+ Access – Join an exclusive global community of ESG professionals, with access to regulatory updates, peer roundtables, and more All modules operate within a single secure platform, giving sustainability, risk, legal, and compliance teams total oversight and strategic clarity. Datamaran Suite is available today for all new and existing clients. To learn more or request a demo, visit Contact: Helen Skeen, Senior PR and Content Manager: Logo - View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Datamaran Limited View original content to download multimedia:
Mail & Guardian
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Red beret, red cap: The wearers are populists that offer theatre, not solutions
Whether storming the Capitol or staging walkouts in parliament, rama of defiance often takes precedence over the slow work of governance. Graphic: John McCann/M&G When Donald Trump launched his 2016 campaign, he electrified a disillusioned electorate with three words, 'Make America Great Again.' That bright red cap became a symbol of defiance against globalism, multiculturalism and liberal consensus. Thousands of miles away, in a vastly different context, Julius Malema dons a red beret and declares South Africa for South Africans. He promises land without compensation, nationalisation of financial institutions and the dismantling of entrenched economic powers. The context and audience may differ but are we watching the same populist theatrics under different lights? It would be tempting to see these two figures as ideological opposites. One draws from the language of conservative nationalism, the other from radical, post-colonial liberation. But peel back the surface and a more unsettling truth emerges that despite their differences, both movements are powered by a similar engine, one that thrives on discontent, sharp binaries and the relentless search for someone to blame. In both cases, the nation is portrayed as having been betrayed by elites, hijacked by outsiders and stripped of its rightful identity. The red cap and the red beret become more than symbols, they are uniforms of resistance. But resistance to what? And in service of whom? The economic message, though packaged differently, often rests on the same populist foundations that the system has failed citizens, and only bold, uncompromising intervention can restore justice. Although that argument has merit, especially in the wake of rising inequality and deepening mistrust in democratic institutions, the solutions offered are often blunt, simplistic interventions that appeal to the emotions but seldom hold up to the complexities of modern economies. Such movements reduce the economy to a zero-sum game. In other words, for one group to win, another must lose. Redistribution becomes a battlefield, not a process of repair. Economic justice is stripped of nuance and transformed into a chant, ready for mass mobilisation but not for structural policy. Behind the populist fervour lies another crucial dynamic, the nature of leadership itself. Populist figures often present themselves not just as representatives, but as embodiments of the people's will. Performance becomes the goal. Whether it's storming the Capitol or staging walkouts in parliament, the drama of defiance often takes precedence over the slow work of governance. But real change requires more than charisma, it demands character. Leadership that transforms must go beyond volume and spectacle. It must mobilise across difference, acknowledge complexity and create room for multiple voices to shape the future. And here is where the question of inclusion and belonging becomes central. Populist movements claim to speak for 'the people', but often narrow the definition of who 'the people' are and in turn they reinforce exclusion. True leadership understands that dignity must be extended to all. A society fractured by inequality does not need more division, it needs healing built on justice. This also demands reflection from within. In South Africa, some of the loudest admirers of American-style populism come from quarters that simultaneously dismiss South Africa's potential. There's a troubling trend among certain white South Africans who replicate US right-wing talking points, lament decline and frame their homeland as irredeemable, all while ignoring the cracks in the system they idealise. Fuelling much of this sentiment is a steady diet of outrage-driven content on platforms such as X, where curated feeds reward polarisation at the cost of perspective. Many opinions are dressed up as informed critique but are little more than algorithm-fed bias. And populist theatre thrives in this vacuum. But the contradiction runs deeper. The same voices that criticise transformation policies such as broad-based black economic empowerment or land reform are silent when American politicians call for immigrants to be expelled or barred from owning land. Why is it acceptable for the US to control access to its economy, but a crisis when South Africa tries to ensure its citizens benefit from economic activity? Why is redistribution condemned in the Global South, but protectionism celebrated in the Global North? This double standard is exposed when the US imposes 30% tariffs on South African exports, based on flawed claims of trade imbalance. Ironically, these punitive measures harm the very white farmers and exporters who often criticise transformation while relying on global markets. When global populism turns inward, it punishes those who once championed its simplicity. Just recently, South Africa joined Brics leaders in Brazil to call for a more balanced global order and again this summit was dismissed by some in the West as subversive. The irony is that those who champion sovereignty in the Global North are often the first to panic when the Global South asserts its own. These contradictions were made more stark when Trump recently praised African leaders for 'speaking good English'. That patronising remark, delivered without irony, reflects how African leadership is viewed, not as equal but as novelty. Which raises the question: why do some South Africans admire a man who sees the continent through a colonial gaze? Equally concerning is the defence of the indefensible. Governance failures, collapsing infrastructure, endemic corruption and basic service failure are too often excused in the name of loyalty to liberation movements or fear of empowering reactionary forces. In the face of dysfunction, silence becomes complicity. Recently, the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner publicly accused the police minister of obstructing investigations into political assassinations and colluding with criminal syndicates. When senior police officials feel compelled to blow the whistle, it is no longer a partisan concern, it is a national emergency; one which the president should not be taking his time to act on. It is also worth asking why transformation in the public sector is tolerated, or ignored, while the same policies provoke outrage in the private sector. No one raises the alarm when our police force is overwhelmingly black, or when employment equity guides public hiring. But when companies are asked to diversify boardrooms, the cry of 'reverse racism' grows loud. Racial representation becomes a problem only when capital is at stake. South Africa's post-apartheid promise was bold: justice, equality and prosperity for all. While millions are still trapped in poverty, that promise remains unmet. And the longer we defend incompetence out of fear or nostalgia, the further we drift from that vision. And yet, something revealing happens when the national rugby or cricket team wins. Divides soften, flags wave with pride and a fractured nation briefly remembers its potential to act as one. But unity built on sport alone is fleeting. It cannot compensate for economic exclusion or governance failure. A nation cannot live on symbolic victories; it must deliver real ones. Perhaps what connects the red hat and the red beret is not ideology, but shared desperation. Both movements arise from real fractures. But rage alone does not rebuild a nation. Leadership that thrives on division ultimately breaks the very societies it claims to protect. In moments like these, we must return to deeper questions. What does it mean to lead with virtue? What does it mean to be excellent, not merely in achievement, but in character? For Aristotle, excellence (aretē) was not a title claimed or a performance staged. It was a habit, a way of being anchored in reason, justice and the pursuit of the common good. It required phronesis, practical wisdom, to discern what is right not only for oneself, but for one's polis. Populism seduces us with certainty. But a virtuous democracy demands patience, humility and courage. The leaders we need are not those who amplify anger, but those who ask harder questions. What is owed to others? How do we build a society in which dignity is not rationed? How do we move from appearances of greatness to the practice of justice? We should not be seduced by boldness that masks shallow thinking. Nor should we mistake disruption for direction. The leaders we need must be courageous enough to listen, humble enough to admit uncertainty and wise enough to build, not with applause, but with purpose. In the end, the red hat and the red beret may not be so different. Both reflect societies searching for coherence in chaos. But if we are to move from theatre to meaning, we must return to virtue as the discipline of building something better. A democracy animated by virtue is not forged through volume, but through vision and ultimately delivered by us as citizens in service of each other. Professor Armand Bam is the head of Social Impact at Stellenbosch Business School.
