THE OUSTED British chief executive of disgraced Olympus, who blew the whistle on a $1.7 billion accounting fraud, dropped his bid to return to lead the medical device maker yesterday, blaming cosy ties between its management and big Japanese shareholders and saying the saga had taken its toll on his family.
Michael Woodford’s campaign against its management rocked the once-proud maker of endoscopes and cameras, but failed to win over Japanese institutional shareholders including Olympus’ main lenders, who support a board that has been castigated for insufficient oversight.
“Despite one of the biggest scandals in history, the Japanese institutional shareholders have not spoken one single word of criticism, in complete and utter contrast with the overseas shareholders who were demanding accountability,” Mr Woodford told a news conference in Tokyo yesterday.
The decision by Mr Woodford, who was fired in October after just two weeks as chief executive, leaves foreign shareholders who want a new slate of directors, including US fund manager Southeastern Asset Management, without a champion to lead any proxy battle when the company convenes an extraordinary shareholders meeting as early as March.
“We applaud and respect actions and regret that he has decided to withdraw. Olympus ... continues to suffer under shoddy corporate governance and an utterly discredited board,” Josh Shores, Southeastern’s senior analyst and principal, said. “We maintain that the board should be replaced and a new board should oversee the company’s revival.”
Mr Woodford said that he would sue Olympus for unfair dismissal and had instructed his lawyers to begin legal action in Britain.
Olympus said in October it fired Woodford because he failed to understand the company’s management style and Japanese culture. “There are no grounds whatsoever for dismissal,” he said.
Mr Woodford called his sacking and later developments an “Alice in Wonderland” situation.
“I get fired ... for doing the right thing, and they are still there,” he said. – (Reuters)
