A few days after his resignation, Ryan Shapiro resigned as chairman of the board of the technology company Pomwm In the face of a criminal investigation being conducted against him in the United States, director Itzik Cohen also decides to resign, while revealing a variety of allegations against the way the company and its board of directors conduct themselves.
Cohen claims, as PomWam reveals in an update she published on the subject, that for many months now he has been “warning about poor corporate governance in the company,” and has listed a variety of events to illustrate this.
These include the conduct of a dispute between him and directors who are part of the (former) control group regarding the election of external directors (foreign directors), the company’s reference to the Securities Authority’s position on the matter, as well as the appointment procedure and the committee’s position.
Cohen, 52, who owns about 14 percent of PomWom shares, served as chairman of the company from July 2020 to May 2021, then left due to what was defined as “disagreements between board members.”
Cohen now notes that a proposal he made “to suspend for the time being the approval procedures for significant changes in the remuneration of the CEO and stakeholders in the company … until the completion of the procedure for appointing a permanent and professional board chairman and new directors,” was rejected. Radical “in the structure of the board of directors and in the manner in which it is conducted” for the benefit of society and prosperity. “
At the same time as Cohen, Deganit Balder also announced her resignation from the Pomwom board of directors, a few days after Itai Mel, the Yarit Fund’s venture capitalist, also announced his resignation from the company’s board at the end of less than six months.
“Rejects Director Cohen’s claims”
In response to Cohen’s claims, Pomwam noted that the company’s board of directors (whoever remains in it) “rejects Cohen’s claims,” and has been and has been since its issuance less than a year ago “to strengthen the company’s corporate governance.”
According to PomWom, the board of directors “acts at all times for the benefit of the company only, in accordance with the rules of proper corporate governance, while working closely with the company’s legal advisers, without prejudice to one shareholder or another.”
Regarding Cohen’s claims regarding the proposal for changes in the CEO’s remuneration, stakeholders added that “the issue has not yet been discussed by the company’s board of directors since the company’s remuneration committee has not yet finalized its recommendations and they have not been presented to the company’s board.”
Pomvom has developed a system that enables the provision of digital photography services based on facial recognition software and artificial intelligence, which is intended for use in amusement parks, sports events and concerts.
Shapiro, the chairman who resigned, was one of the investors in the company even before it was issued and now has about 7% of the capital in his hands.
PomWom’s initial public offering (IPO) was completed last March, when the company raised close to NIS 40 million at a company value of NIS 135 million “after the money”.
Since the IPO, the company’s stock has soared in three digits in a short time, but since then it has corrected a large part of the gains and in total it shows a climb of about 80% from March to date, so it reflects a current market value of around NIS 250 million.