Sequoia Financial Group has confirmed chief executive Garry Crole will remain at the firm until June 2026.
The licensee announced Crole has accepted a fixed-term contract to June 2026, having led the firm since 2019.
However, a focus for the board during the next two years will be succession planning for his replacement to take over from June 2026, and Crole will act as a mentor for a smooth transition.
Earlier this year, a group of shareholders pushed for Crole to be removed as CEO as they were concerned about upheaval in the firm’s Direct Investment division and believed the two directors they proposed would improve corporate governance and create a more focused and profitable business.
While the motion was not passed, Sequoia said it would enter a new contract that provides for a successor to be identified who would take over during the two years to June 2026.
It also announced a restructure of its business following the extraordinary general meeting in June which would see the licensee move from having four reporting divisions to just two: licensee and adviser services, and legal and administration services.
The licensee and adviser services will include InterPrac Financial Planning, Sequoia Financial Advice, Sequoia Family Office, Sequoia Corporate Finance, Sequoia Wealth Management, Sequoia Asset Management, and Sequoia Specialist Investments. It will also include its content arm Informed Investor, ShareCafe, and Corporate Connect Research which was acquired in March 2022.
The legal and administration services arm will include Castle Corporate, Constitute, NTAA Corporate and Panthercorp, Docscentre Legal, and Sequoia Superannuation.
Group chairman Charles Sweeney said: “We are very pleased to extend Garry’s contract until June 2026 allowing him to fulfil the next chapter of our group’s mission and strengthening our already successful licensee and adviser services business, as well as overseeing the growth opportunity in the legal and administration services division under Stephen Harvey which is a pivotal part of our new streamlined business model.”
The firm forecast that the disruption caused by rogue shareholders will impact its second-half results for FY24, but that full-year results should see revenue of $125 million and a normalised EBITDA of $8.5 million.
The board anticipates declaring a 2.5 cent fully franked final dividend, taking normal dividends for FY24 to 4.5 cents per share fully franked, plus a 2.5 cent fully franked special dividend.
