Activist investor Gatemore calls for CEO change in UK's YouGov (updated)
14/01/2025 08:19
(Adds details from letter, background on Shakespeare in
paragraph 5, details on Elementis CEO change in paragraph 6)
Jan 14 (Reuters) - Activist investor Gatemore Capital
called for leadership changes at YouGov YOU.L on Tuesday and
proposed appointing former boss Stephan Shakespeare as interim
CEO to lead a strategic review of the British polling and
research company.
Gatemore's push for executive shakeup follows its demand for
the company to conduct a review of its business and initiate a
sale process.
Gatemore, which currently holds a 1.3% stake in YouGov,
blamed CEO Steve Hatch's governance for the company's
underperformance since his appointment in August 2023.
YouGov did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Shakespeare co-founded YouGov in 2000, stepped down from
the chief executive role in 2023 and currently serves as its
non-executive chair.
Last April, the activist investor called for British
specialty chemicals firm Elementis ELM.L to review operations
and replace the CEO, which led to Paul Waterman's resignation
from the chief executive role in November.
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job; Editing by Savio D'Souza and
Eileen Soreng)
((RaechelThankam.Job@thomsonreuters.com;))