Peter Daly said he is somewhat surprised and 'deeply disappointed' as he departs his role as chief executive and managing director of the Australian Financial Services (AFS) Group.
Daly told Money Management that the full board of AFS had a meeting on 8 May 2012 in which it discussed and agreed on the future strategy and budget for the year ahead.
"I was given the authority to proceed in completing the negotiation of an acquisition of another dealer group we were working on," Daly said.
"I was therefore surprised that over the period of the last fortnight we went from a position of agreeing on the growth strategy I had recommended – plus the potential acquisition of another dealer group – to finding myself in a position where they no longer believe that I have the skill set to take them forward," he added.
The news of Daly's departure from the dealer group came in an announcement released last night by the company board, in which Chairman Barry Stephen thanked Daly for his contribution to AFS.
Daly said he still had a tremendous amount of respect for Stephen, who admitted the board had a "tough decision" to make.
Stephen told Money Management the decision came as AFS faced a number of challenges in the last few years, namely the long-term uncertainty around whether the group was to be acquired.
He added that AFS will now be renovating the business from what he regards as "sound foundations".
Daly will remain one of the major shareholders of AFS Group.
"Most dealer groups have struggled in the post-global financial crisis era, while our income and earnings have remained stable throughout that period," Daly said.
"I am therefore deeply disappointed as to what happened."
