WALTER SMITH is set to be appointed chairman of Rangers, with Malcolm Murray stepping down from his position.
The changes were approved at a board meeting in London yesterday as the directors attempted to find stability after a period of dissent and strife.
An announcement to the Stock Exchange was expected this morning.
Murray had been expected to either stand down or be removed from his role. He was the subject of a unanimous vote of no confidence among the seven other directors this month and had a board meeting last Friday taken place as planned he would have been voted off.
Leaving the Rangers International Football Club plc board without a chairman would have led to uncertainty among shareholders, although Smith's appointment was unexpected. He has previously expressed a reluctance to take on the role, and has twice come close to stepping down as a non-executive director during boardroom difficulties.
Smith had been critical of Charles Green, the former chief executive who resigned and will, come midnight on Friday, no longer be a director.
Much of Murray's time as chairman was spent clashing with Green and Imran Ahmad, the commercial director who left last month. It was also Murray who instigated the independent examination – by Deloitte and Pinsent Masons – into alleged collusion last summer between Green and Craig Whyte, the ex-owner.
Although Smith was an ally of Murray's during much of his time on the board, the ex-manager reluctantly came to the same conclusion as other directors a change was required. There is also the prospect of an extraordinary general meeting, called by the shareholders Blue Pitch Holdings, to contend with.
There are four resolutions to be heard at the meeting. The others were for Philip Cartmell, the non-executive director, to be voted off the board, James Easdale, the owner of McGill's Buses, to be voted on, and for Chris Morgan, said to represent the family trusts behind Blue Pitch Holdings, to also be voted on.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/walter-smith-to-become-rangers-chairman.21218281
The changes were approved at a board meeting in London yesterday as the directors attempted to find stability after a period of dissent and strife.
An announcement to the Stock Exchange was expected this morning.
Murray had been expected to either stand down or be removed from his role. He was the subject of a unanimous vote of no confidence among the seven other directors this month and had a board meeting last Friday taken place as planned he would have been voted off.
Leaving the Rangers International Football Club plc board without a chairman would have led to uncertainty among shareholders, although Smith's appointment was unexpected. He has previously expressed a reluctance to take on the role, and has twice come close to stepping down as a non-executive director during boardroom difficulties.
Smith had been critical of Charles Green, the former chief executive who resigned and will, come midnight on Friday, no longer be a director.
Much of Murray's time as chairman was spent clashing with Green and Imran Ahmad, the commercial director who left last month. It was also Murray who instigated the independent examination – by Deloitte and Pinsent Masons – into alleged collusion last summer between Green and Craig Whyte, the ex-owner.
Although Smith was an ally of Murray's during much of his time on the board, the ex-manager reluctantly came to the same conclusion as other directors a change was required. There is also the prospect of an extraordinary general meeting, called by the shareholders Blue Pitch Holdings, to contend with.
There are four resolutions to be heard at the meeting. The others were for Philip Cartmell, the non-executive director, to be voted off the board, James Easdale, the owner of McGill's Buses, to be voted on, and for Chris Morgan, said to represent the family trusts behind Blue Pitch Holdings, to also be voted on.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/walter-smith-to-become-rangers-chairman.21218281
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