Ex-Olympus CEO quits from board of directors
Source: Agencies |
December 2, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE whistle-blowing former chief executive of Japan's Olympus Corp resigned as a director of the camera maker yesterday and vowed to work with shareholders to replace the company's board.
Michael Woodford said his decision to resign from the board was difficult because he still cares about Olympus Corp and hopes it will come clean about its accounting coverup. Woodford was still a member of the board because dismissal from it can only be done by shareholders.
Although it initially denied wrongdoing, Tokyo-based Olympus has acknowledged a US$687 million payment for financial advice and expensive acquisitions to cover up investment losses dating to the 1990s.
"It has been a difficult decision for me to resign from a company that I have devoted my entire life to," said Woodford, 51, a Briton who worked at Olympus for about three decades and became a rare foreigner to head a major Japanese company.
He said he had lost hope that the Olympus board would move toward reform.
Shareholders should decide who would lead Olympus, he said, and called for a shareholders meeting. He will be working with shareholders to propose a new board, he said.
Woodford, fired on October 14 after questioning its accounting practices, has called for the entire board to resign and to bring in outside members to the board for more transparency.
Olympus' bookkeeping is now under investigation in Japan, the United States and Britain. The fiasco has evolved into one of Japan's biggest corporate scandals.
Woodford was in Japan last week to speak with Japanese prosecutors and police and also spoke with the Olympus board during the visit. He says he is also speaking with US and British authorities.
Speculation is rife that the amount that Olympus has falsified in its financial reports could be massive. Japanese magazine Facta was first to report on the dubious money.
Michael Woodford said his decision to resign from the board was difficult because he still cares about Olympus Corp and hopes it will come clean about its accounting coverup. Woodford was still a member of the board because dismissal from it can only be done by shareholders.
Although it initially denied wrongdoing, Tokyo-based Olympus has acknowledged a US$687 million payment for financial advice and expensive acquisitions to cover up investment losses dating to the 1990s.
"It has been a difficult decision for me to resign from a company that I have devoted my entire life to," said Woodford, 51, a Briton who worked at Olympus for about three decades and became a rare foreigner to head a major Japanese company.
He said he had lost hope that the Olympus board would move toward reform.
Shareholders should decide who would lead Olympus, he said, and called for a shareholders meeting. He will be working with shareholders to propose a new board, he said.
Woodford, fired on October 14 after questioning its accounting practices, has called for the entire board to resign and to bring in outside members to the board for more transparency.
Olympus' bookkeeping is now under investigation in Japan, the United States and Britain. The fiasco has evolved into one of Japan's biggest corporate scandals.
Woodford was in Japan last week to speak with Japanese prosecutors and police and also spoke with the Olympus board during the visit. He says he is also speaking with US and British authorities.
Speculation is rife that the amount that Olympus has falsified in its financial reports could be massive. Japanese magazine Facta was first to report on the dubious money.
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