http://www.mdtmag.com/News/FeedsAP/2011/11/olympus-ex-ceo-woodford-resigns-from-board/
"It has been a difficult decision for me to resign from a company
that I have devoted my entire life to," said Woodford, 51, a Briton who
worked at Olympus for about three decades and became a rare foreigner to
head a major Japanese company.
But he said he lost hope that the
Olympus board would move toward reform after seeing a Nov. 28 message
from Olympus' new president, Shuichi Takayama. He said he now thinks
that the Olympus board will not change.
He also said stakeholders
should decide who should lead Olympus and called for a shareholders
meeting. He will be working with stakeholders to propose a new board, he
said.
Woodford, fired Oct. 14, has called for the entire board to
resign and to bring in outside members to the board for more
transparency.
Olympus' bookkeeping is now under investigation in
Japan, the U.S. and Great Britain. The fiasco has evolved into one of
Japan's biggest corporate scandals.Woodford was in Japan last
week to speak with Japanese prosecutors and police and also spoke with
the Olympus board during the visit. He says he is also speaking with
U.S. and British authorities.
Speculation is rife that the amount
that Olympus has falsified in its financial reports could be massive.
Japanese magazine Facta was first to report on the dubious money.Olympus must
submit a proper financial report by Dec. 14, or it risks being delisted by the
Tokyo Stock Exchange.
"I
am strongly of the view that it's completely inappropriate for the
current management team who are tainted by its past mistakes to make
choices about the identity of new board members," Woodford said in a
statement.
At the center of the scandal is the compensation
Olympus paid for advice when it bought British medical instruments maker
Gyrus Group in 2008.
Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, who was behind Woodford's
appointment as chief executive and later his firing, has since resigned
as chairman.
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