Global Lithium Resources has chosen a new chairman and chief to redirect the lithium explorer’s focus following a turbulent six months largely defined by a public boardroom dispute.
Global Lithium Resources has chosen a new chairman and chief to redirect the lithium explorer’s focus following a turbulent six months largely defined by a public boardroom dispute.
The ASX-listed junior has outlined its new management team as the dust settles from its annual general meeting last week, at which a long-running boardroom takeover was waved through by shareholders after two directors resigned on the morning of the vote.
The lithium hopeful told the market it had appointed Richard O’Shannassy as chairman, after the company’s executive chairman Ron Mitchell resigned from his post the morning of the AGM.
Mr O’Shannassy comes from a background as a commercial lawyer and ran his own firm. He also sits on the board of ASX-listed gold play Focus Minerals.
Assuming the position as managing director is Dianmin Chen, who was re-elected as a director by shareholders at the meeting. Speaking on the sidelines of the AGM last week, Mr Chen poured cold water over concerns the boardroom matter resembled a covert Chinese takeover.
Mr Mitchell and director Matthew Allen tendered their resignations on the morning of the meeting, leaving their seats open to Leon Zhu and David Sun, who successfully joined the board.
Mr Zhu was the shareholder – through his property firm Sincerity Developments - who sparked the boardroom stoush when he lobbed the notice to oust two directors and add himself to the mix last year. He will become a part-time executive director of GL1.
Shareholders used the meeting the vent frustration at the boardroom blue taking focus from the development of the company’s Manna lithium project near Kalgoorlie.
Commenting on the board changes last week, Mr Chen said the key to rebuilding trust with the company’s shareholders and potential project partners was making Manna a more investable proposition within a challenging lithium market.
Over the course of six months the long-running matter was escalated to the state’s Supreme Court, the Takeovers Panel and the Foreign Investment Review Board.
The takeovers umpire twice declined to conduct proceedings after GL1 raised concerns around “associated parties” attempting to muscle in on the board. GL1 then raised foreign control concerns with FIRB, for which its waiting on a verdict.
