Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) (“Genco” or the “Company”), the largest U.S. headquartered drybulk shipowner focused on the global transportation of commodities, announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has unanimously rejected the proposed nomination of Randee Day and Robert Pons by George Economou through his entity GK Investor LLC to stand for election to the Board at the Company’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
The Company issued the following statement:
Our Board of Directors thoroughly evaluated both nominees and determined on the unanimous recommendation of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, which is comprised of independent directors, that adding them to the Board would not be in the best interest of the Company or its shareholders.
As part of its review process, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee interviewed both nominees and determined that they respectively are not additive to our Board’s existing skills and expertise or lack sufficient experience in shipping and related industries.
Our Board already possesses significant, essential experience for Genco, including experience in shipping, fleet management and commercial and technical management, capital allocation management, financial reporting and M&A. The Board has also strengthened its experience and expertise in critical commodities markets with Paramita Das’ appointment, which follows a comprehensive search process that was well underway mid-last year.
Our Board remains committed to our strong governance practices and actions it believes will create the most shareholder value. To that end, the Board is focused on our Comprehensive Value Strategy to drive value through drybulk shipping market cycles. Genco is delivering solid operating and financial results, as shown by its recent strong earnings for Q4 2023, all while advancing its priorities of reducing debt, returning capital to shareholders through dividends and investing in growth.
Our directors are active, engaged and open-minded with respect to value-creation opportunities. The Board will continue to take actions it believes are in the best interest of the Company and all its shareholders.
The Board will make its formal recommendation regarding director nominations in its proxy statement for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and mailed to shareholders in due course.