Vince Tyra is getting to work a month earlier than initially planned.

The incoming president/CEO of Top 40 supplier Gildan (asi/56842) was scheduled to begin his tenure in the top executive role on Feb. 12, but is now starting Monday, Jan. 15.

Vince Tyra, Gildan.

The accelerated start date comes amid a bitter, month-long battle over the control and future of Gildan, a Montreal-headquartered publicly traded company, that’s played out between the board of directors and activist shareholders.

The corporate war kicked off after the board dismissed Glenn Chamandy, then CEO and co-founder of the vertically integrated manufacturer of apparel basics, in mid-December. Directors announced Tyra would be his replacement.

Shareholders subsequently revolted, criticizing the board for what they felt was an ill-planned, knee-jerk decision and calling for the reinstatement of Chamandy as CEO and as a board director. Browning West, a Los Angeles-based investment firm and Gildan shareholder, also wants to oust eight current board members and replace them. Browning West is pushing for an immediate shareholder meeting/vote on its proposals.

“Browning West and eight other independent shareholders, representing approximately 35% of Gildan's outstanding shares, have expressed substantial concern over the board's actions and called for the immediate reversal of the board's significant missteps,” the firm said in a letter to shareholders.

Gildan’s board hasn’t budged from its position. Trading salvos in public statements with Chamandy and Browning West, the directors on Jan. 8 released a scathing portrayal of Chamandy, saying he’d become a disengaged, ineffective leader who tried to throw his weight around through a brazen ultimatum to remain as CEO, making his departure necessary for the future success of the company in the eyes of the board.

Gildan Board Says Chamandy Was Distracted, Ineffective Before Termination https://t.co/oh2lQ70s5y

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) January 8, 2024

Chamandy slammed the board in return, saying its “self-serving motives, designed to distract from its own recklessness, have led them to lose sight of what is truly important — the best interests of the company.”

Chamandy co-founded Gildan in the 1980s and was fundamental to building the company into the publicly-traded, global apparel-making powerhouse that it is today. Even the board acknowledged that Chamandy had done an excellent job for much of his 20 years as chief executive officer, prior to what directors characterized as a drop-off in recent years. Some investors assert he remains the right executive to lead Gildan.

“Browning West believes that under Mr. Chamandy’s leadership Gildan is well positioned for strong earnings growth over the coming years,” the firm said.

Gildan’s Board Makes the Case for Tyra

The board’s next public reply came Friday, Jan. 12, when it announced Tyra would be starting Jan. 15 to “engage early with key stakeholders and bring needed stability and leadership to the company as it embarks on its next chapter of success.”

In a press release announcing Tyra’s new start date, the board took pains to detail what they said is his accomplished professional record – a record that Browning West and Chamandy had criticized, with the investor decrying Tyra for being responsible for “value destruction” at companies he worked for in the past.

“Few people have had the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership skills across such an impressive range of industries and managerial challenges as Vince.” Gildan’s Board of Directors.

Far from a destroyer, Trya is a value-builder, the board said. It stated that:

• Tyra invested in and grew his own activewear business in his twenties utilizing Gildan as a key supplier. Based on that early success, he then joined Fruit of the Loom (asi/84257) where the board there promoted him to president “in the company’s darkest hour to develop and implement a restructuring plan that put Fruit of the Loom back on sound financial footing ahead of its eventual sale to Berkshire Hathaway,” Gildan’s board said.

• Based on that performance, Bain Capital, then owner of Broder Bros., a promo industry supplier that has since evolved into Top 40 firm alphabroder (asi/34063), hired Tyra as CEO of Broder. The company’s revenue tripled over the six years Tyra was in charge, Gildan said.

• After Broder, Tyra built a successful career in private equity and served on the board of directors at 10 companies, stepping in as interim CEO at three to help each move toward successful financial exits.

• In 2017, Tyra took on what Gildan described as “perhaps the most challenging turnaround of his career, fixing the scandal-plagued athletics program at the NCAA powerhouse University of Louisville. Under his leadership, Vince established a new culture of excellence and compliance while rebuilding the sports program.”

“Few people have had the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership skills across such an impressive range of industries and managerial challenges as Vince,” the Gildan board said. “And while the experiences vary, the throughline of his career is using his financial acumen, sound management and ability to build teams and motivate people around a shared strategy and vision to improve the companies and organizations he has led.”

Based on estimated 2022 North American promotional product revenue of $762.2 million, Gildan ranked fifth on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry.

Across all its business channels, including promo and others, Gildan tallied record total revenue of $3.24 billion in 2022. Through the first nine months of 2023, the company’s sales were down 4.3% compared to the prior year. Full-year results for 2023 are due out in the first quarter of 2024.