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Our engagement journey
After Burberry issues a profit warning, the company announces that Jonathan Akeroyd will step down as CEO and will be replaced, with immediate effect, by Joshua Shulman.
We speak with the chair and CFO, requesting a further call with the senior independent director (SID).
We speak with the SID to understand the circumstances of the CEO's departure.
These conversations make clear that the board believes that the exiting CEO had not effectively driven strategy execution and that fixing this would require a CEO change.
We meet the new CEO and CFO in London. Our discussion focuses on the CEO settling in, his views on long-term strategy and the necessary changes to return the company to a path of sustainable growth.
We provide feedback on remuneration arrangements for the new CEO ahead of the 2025 AGM.
Our engagements with the company have given us confidence that management is well-positioned to deliver on its long-term premiumisation plan. If this is successful, we believe that the current valuation does not reflect the strength of this unique brand. We view recent management changes as positive and plan to engage with the incoming chair, once appointed, to outline our ongoing stewardship expectations.
We meet with the board chair, continuing the dialogue on how the CEO is settling in and discussing his remuneration arrangements. We also hear that two recent joiners, Jonathan Kimian, chief marketing officer (CMO) and Paul Price, chief product merchandising and planning officer (CPMPO), have been working well with the rest of the executive team.
Burberry announces it is searching for a new board chair.
We support management at the AGM and welcome the appointment of Stella King as a new non-executive director, bringing valuable luxury sector experience.
We make a modest increase to our position.
We hold our annual due diligence day, meeting with the CEO and finance director, as well as other members of the executive team, including the CMO and CPMPO. The visit provides further reassurances around strategy alignment and improved execution in the future.