Stockholder Urges WITHHOLD VOTE on Douglas Elliman's CEO Howard Lorber
Stockholder Urges WITHHOLD VOTE on Douglas Elliman's CEO Howard Lorber
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2024 / Mr. Bradley Tirpak announced he has issued the following letter to the Stockholders of Douglas Elliman, Inc. ("DOUG" or "Company").
Bradley Tirpak先生宣佈他已經向道格拉斯·愛利曼股份有限公司("DOUG"或"公司")的股東發出以下信函。
In his letter, he urges his fellow stockholders to WITHOLD VOTES ON PART- TIME CEO HOWARD LORBER at the upcoming Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held August 21, 2024.
在他的信中,他敦促他的股東同僚在即將於2024年8月21日舉行的年度股東大會上撤回對兼職首席執行官霍華德·洛布爾的投票權。
The full text of the letter is below:
信函全文如下:
Dear Fellow Stockholders,
親愛的股東,
I am writing to you to urge you to vote "WITHOLD" on the company's part-time CEO Howard Lorber at the upcoming Douglas Elliman Inc. ("DOUG" or "Company") Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held August 21, 2024.
我寫信給你,敦促你在即將於2024年8月21日舉行的道格拉斯·愛利曼股份有限公司("DOUG"或"公司")年度股東大會上投下"撤回"對公司兼職首席執行官霍華德·洛伯爾的投票。
Stockholders are urged to vote "AGAINST" Proposal 3, the advisory vote ("SAY-ON-PAY") on executive compensation, and to vote "FOR" Proposal 4, the proposal to elect directors annually.
股東們被敦促在提案3上投"反對",即有關公司高管薪酬的建議性投票("SAY-ON-PAY"),並投"贊成"提案4,即年度選舉董事的提案。
Given the fact that Company's share price has declined approximately 80% since the spin off from Vector Group Ltd. ("VGR" or "Vector" ), Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass Lewis will be asked to rigorously scrutinize the compensation policies at the Company.
考慮到公司自獨立於Vector Group Ltd.("VGR"或"Vector")以來股價已下跌約80%,因此機構股東投票代理機構Institutional Shareholder Services("ISS")和Glass Lewis將被要求對公司的薪酬政策進行嚴格審查。
In the recent proxy statement filed on July 11, 2024 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, stockholders learned that the compensation committee of the board of directors significantly lowered the metrics used to measure the success of the Company when awarding executive bonuses.
在最近提交給證券交易委員會的關於投票代理的聲明中,股東們了解到公司董事會的薪酬委員會在授予高管獎金時顯着降低了用於衡量公司成功的標準。
A WITHOLD VOTE on Mr. Lorber and a VOTE AGAINST PROPOSAL 3 will make sure that the board of directors understands that the compensation policies of the Company are flawed and the Company requires truly independent oversight that aligns management compensation with stockholder returns.
對洛伯爾先生的撤回投票和對提案3的反對投票將確保董事會明白公司的薪酬政策的缺陷以及公司需要真正獨立的監督來保持管理層的薪酬與股東回報相一致。
Between fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the compensation committee lowered the Threshold, Target and Maximum Adjusted EBITDA performance goals from a positive $72 million, $80 million, and $95 million to a Threshold of rewarding management for posting a loss of $20 million, a Target of merely breaking even at $0, and a Maximum bonus for reporting a paltry $10mm in Adjusted EBITDA.
在2022年至2023年財年之間,薪酬委員會將調整後的調整後的運營利潤(Adjusted EBITDA)的閾值、目標和最高執行目標從正的7200萬、8000萬和9500萬分別降至獎勵管理層出現2000萬元損失的閾值、僅在0處停留不前的目標和彙報10mm調整後的EBITDA所獲得的最高獎金。
When Mr. Lorber agreed to his part-time job just over two years ago, the board believed $72mm in EBITDA was a worthy "Threshold." Today, the board has lowered that "Threshold" by an astonishing $92 million and happily accepts continuing losses as the "Threshold" of success.
當洛伯爾於兩年多前接受他的兼職工作時,董事會認爲7200萬美元的EBITDA是一個值得的"閾值"。如今,董事會已將這個"閾值"驚人地降低了9200萬美元,並樂意接受繼續虧損作爲成功的"閾值"。
Under the 2022 bonus structure, management would have widely failed the Adjusted EBITDA Threshold, fallen short of the Gross Transaction Value Target, and whiffed the Dividend Threshold. As a painful reminder, the Company cancelled its dividend in early 2023.
根據2022年的獎金結構,管理層將遠未達到調整後的EBITDA閾值,未達到總交易價值目標,也未達到分紅閾值。公司在2023年初取消了股息支付,這是一個痛苦的提醒。
From the proxy, it is unclear how the board evaluated the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion portion of Mr. Lorber's bonus where he received the Maximum permissible award, but given recent headlines in the Wall Street Journal surrounding problematic brokers accused of sexual assault, stockholders deserve to know how the assault and harassment claims were handled by management.
從代理聲明中看不出董事會如何評估洛伯爾先生的獎金多樣性、平等和包容性部分,因爲他獲得了最高可允許的獎勵,但鑑於《華爾街日報》最近報導的涉及被控性侵的有問題經紀人的新聞標題,股東們應該知道管理層如何處理了這些性侵和騷擾指控。
It is even less clear on what management has done to further address the important issue of climate change. Over the past year, it is clear management has yet to complete a measurement of the Company's emissions, which began in 2022.
管理層對應對氣候變化這一重要問題所做的努力尚不明確。過去一年中,公司顯然還沒有完成該公司排放量的測量,這項工作始於2022年。
Here are some obvious suggestions to the board:
以下是對董事會的明顯建議:
The board should hold the CEO to the 2022 EBITDA and Transaction Value thresholds, and claw back his 2023 bonus.
董事會應按照2022年的EBITDA和交易價值標準約束首席執行官,並收回他的2023年獎金。
Mr. Lorber also serves as part-time CEO at the cigarette maker Vector. Given the disastrous stock performance, recent dilution, and failure to maintain profitability, it is clear the Douglas Elliman needs a focused, full-time CEO. Mr. Lorber's contract ends on December 29, 2024. The board should open a search for a new CEO immediately.
洛伯先生還擔任香菸製造商Vector的兼職首席執行官。鑑於公司股票業績慘淡、最近發生的業務稀釋和無法維持盈利性,很明顯,道格拉斯·愛利曼需要一個專注的、全職的首席執行官。洛伯的合同將於2024年12月29日到期。董事會應立即啓動新首席執行官的搜索。
Losses are not acceptable to stockholders. The newly reconstituted compensation committee should retain a new compensation consultant immediately.
虧損對股東來說是不可接受的。新組成的薪酬委員會應立即僱傭一位新的薪酬顧問。
The Company is paying $4.2 million a year for certain services to Vector. These services should be brought in house. It is time for a complete separation from Vector.
該公司每年支付420萬美元的某些服務費用給Vector。這些服務應該內部開展。是時候與Vector徹底分離了。
The board should eliminate the private jet arrangement with Vector.
董事會應取消與Vector的私人噴氣式飛機安排。
The board should open an independent investigation into recent sexual assault allegations made in the Wall Street Journal and investigate if management participated in a cover-up or has been rewarding certain brokers in a self-serving manner.
董事會應對《華爾街日報》最近披露的性侵指控進行獨立調查,並調查公司是否參與了掩蓋或以自私的方式獎勵某些經紀人。
The board should institute a whistle blowing hotline to allow employees to report sexual harassment, fraud, and other illegal behaviors.
董事會應確立一個吹哨人舉報熱線,允許員工報告性騷擾、欺詐和其他違法行爲。
Normally, poor compensation practices would simply warrant a vote against the compensation committee or compensation committee chairman, but the staggered board prevents this solution. This is why stockholders are urged to vote "FOR" Proposal 4, the proposal to elect directors annually.
通常,糟糕的薪酬慣例通常只會引起針對薪酬委員會或薪酬委員會主席的反對投票,但分層董事會阻止了這個解決方案。因此,股東被敦促投票支持《議題4》以每年選舉董事。
The board has paid Mr Lorber over $45 million over the past three years, and stockholders have suffered under his leadership. It is time to send a message to the board that stockholders demand compensation policies aligned with profitability and better corporate governance.
董事會在過去三年裏支付給Lorber先生超過4500萬美元,而股東們在他的領導下遭受了苦難。現在是向董事會發出信息的時候,股東們要求薪酬政策與盈利能力和更好的公司治理相一致。
Given the abysmal stockholder returns and the massive dilution recently inflicted on stockholders, stockholders are urged to WITHOLD VOTES FOR HOWARD LORBER in the upcoming election.
鑑於可憐的股東回報率和近期對股東造成的巨大稀釋,敦促股東在即將到來的選舉中反對霍華德·洛伯的選票。
Douglas Elliman is a valuable franchise and a storied real estate brand. Under new leadership, with appropriate cost controls, less dilution, improved capital allocation, and a management team accountable to and aligned with stockholders, it is certain the Douglas Elliman can recover and thrive.
Douglas Elliman是一個有價值的特許經營權,也是一個有着悠久歷史的房地產品牌。在新領導人的帶領下,通過適當的成本控制、更少的稀釋、改善的資本配置和對股東負責和對齊的管理團隊,Douglas Elliman肯定可以恢復和發展。
Sincerely,
此致敬禮,
Bradley Tirpak
Bradley Tirpak
About ATI:
關於ATI:
Bradley Tirpak is the managing director of ATI and is an investor based in New York and Aspen. ATI invests in public companies with the aim of improving corporate governance and shareholder returns.
Bradley Tirpak是ATI的董事總經理,是一位總部位於紐約和阿斯彭的投資者。ATI投資於上市公司,旨在提高公司治理和股東回報率。
Contact Information
聯繫信息
Bradley Tirpak
Managing Member, ATI
brad@tirpak.com
(212) 533-6940
Bradley Tirpak
ATI董事總經理
brad@tirpak.com
(212) 533-6940
SOURCE: ATI
消息來源:ATI