Athabasca Potash Inc. said late Sept. 3 that the alternative slate of directors led by ousted founder, president, and CEO Dawn Zhou was elected to lead the company (GM Aug. 31, p. 14). The new board includes Zhou, Bradley V.A. Fettis, Kenneth MacNeill, Robert Cross, Brian Goodwin, Charley X. Ye, and Arnold Hillier. They were elected by a majority of shareholders eligible to vote at the annual and special meeting of shareholders of API on Sept. 3 in Saskatoon. The new board thanked shareholders for their support and said it looks forward to advancing the Burr potash project and discussions with potential strategic parties. A report of voting results for the meeting will be filed on www.sedar.com. The new API board also thanked the outgoing directors for their services.
Zhou was removed from her API positions, except for director, in June (GM June 29). API said at the time that while Zhou’s entrepreneurial expertise and experience in geotechnical matters surrounding exploration was key in the formation and early development of API, that API had reached a stage where the skills required of its CEO, in addition to familiarity with potash and the related chemicals processing industry, must include mining project finance and development and building completion and operations experience. Zhou was replaced by Robert Boyd in August (GM Aug. 10).
On Aug. 28, the board issued a press release with a much harsher assessment of Zhou, indicating several long simmering complaints and disagreements. The board said that as early as Oct. 8, 2008, it advised Zhou during a performance evaluation that they were of the opinion that she was not qualified to hold the position of president and CEO. The situation appeared to go downhill from that, with the board detailing several disagreements between the it and Zhou, culminating in her ultimate termination in June, even though she told the board that she controlled over 50 percent of the stock. Their response was that that did not qualify her to be CEO.
On Sept. 1, the board said RiskMetrics Group, a leading North American proxy advisory firm, recommended that existing management remain in office.
Directors leaving include Boyd, potash veteran Robert Connochie, John King Burns, Leo Bingleman, James Gardiner, and Dr. Edward Schiller.