Three long-serving executives of the University Co-operative Bookshop Ltd have been sacked by a special meeting of the board of directors.
A fourth executive left in protest.
The general-manager, Jack McLoone, had been asked to resign, but refused saying he had done nothing wrong.
Last year the bookshop attracted 40,000 new members (to 570,000), had a turnover of $60 million and a profit of $1 million.
Directors were notified of the meeting on Thursday saying the meeting was the next day with one agenda item on how to heal the differences that had arisen in 1992. Some directors, therefore, did not attend. The executives were not aware of what was likely to happen at the meeting either. One, the company secretary, Colin Bain, had been given the task of notifying directors of the benign agenda item.
The other two were Mr McLoone, and the general manger of schools, Guy Rodriguez. The national retail manger, Michael Johnson, resigned in protest.
The ANU branch is the co-op’s biggest bookstore and also Canberra’s biggest bookstore. The co-op has other stores at tertiary institutions throughout Australia.
Mr McLoone’s home telephone was constantly engaged yesterday. The chairman of the board was also uncontactable. He was not at work and his home phone was not answering.
Several new young directors who were elected in 1991 and 1992 have pursued the issue of higher directors’ fees, according to minutes of the bookshops annual general meeting. It is understood the fees issue was raised at directors’ meetings. On all occasions longer-serving directors sought no increase or only a CPI increase.
It is understood that new directors argued for changes to rules on the running of elections for directors.
One of the young new directors, Sydney accountant, Ted Seng, argued at the annual general meeting that higher fees would attract a better calibre director. The meeting voted for a CPI increase only. Directors get between $3000 and $4000 a year. Mr Seng, when asked why the executives were sacked, said yesterday that he was not authorised to say anything. The chairman would be issuing a statement in a day or so.
Maurice Dunlevy, of the University of Canberra, who has been on the board for nine years said he had no idea this was coming. He had had a family commitment in Melbourne and having been told of the agenda item decided not to go to the meeting. A regular meeting had been due shortly anyway.
Mr Dunlevy said the sacked executives were of the highest calibre. He had worked as a consultant with government and private enterprise as a consultant for 25 years and would rate Mr McLoone in the top rank of managers.
Until two years ago, directors’ meetings had been low-key affairs with decisions based on consensus. In the nine years he had been director the management had improved the bookshop, constantly seeking new markets and implementing new ideas. He was concerned that academics, booktrade experts and people with long business experience were losing control of the bookshop to young accountants.