The Castel family votes to break ties with the group director who counters, “I am more in command than ever”

onday 2 February saw “the first stage in the governance reshaping process” of the Castel group, announced a press statement issued by the namesake family. Revocation of Gregory Clerc’s directorship at the helm of the fund management company that owns the Castel group – the Investment Beverage Business Management holding company based in Singapore – which was defeated in December, has now been authorised at an extraordinary general meeting. Shareholders “voted by a qualified majority to strip Gregory Clerc of his directorship and to remove Pierre Baer as chairman of the board”, says the statement, stressing that “the Castel family acknowledges this expected outcome which heralds a new stage of governance”.

IBBM subsequently issued its own statement rejecting these conclusions: “None of the proposed resolutions was validly adopted” at the extraordinary general meeting and “Company administrators will continue to perform their duties with loyalty and diligence, pursuant to the principles and ideals of Castel group founder, Pierre Castel”. Although “the meeting was convened by some of the shareholders, and its primary objective was to remove some administrators and appoint others, as well as amend the company’s articles of association”, reports IBBM, the holding company believes “there was therefore no change in the board or amendment to the company’s articles of association”. Gregory Clerc has stated, “I keep my directorship of IBBM and I am more in command than ever, serving the interests of the Castel group”.