Crowd Media Ltd (ASX: CM8) shares are are plunging today following a shock change to the company's leadership team. At the time of writing, the Crowd Media share price is down a sizeable 13.8% to 5 cents.
While most of the ASX market is trending lower, Crowd Media is one of the many companies leading the downfall.
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What's driving the Crowd Media share price lower?
The Crowd Media share price is falling after the company announced the shock retirement of its CEO, Mr Domenic Carosa.
According to its release, Crowd Media advised that Mr Carosa tendered his resignation to the board in order to spend more time on his recently Canadian-listed company, Banxa Holdings Inc.
Crowd Media revealed that by mutual agreement, Mr Carosa will leave the company on 31 March 2021.
During the transition period, Mr Carosa will serve as a non-executive director and provide consulting on an as-needed basis. This will include assisting with the development of the company's Horizon 2 and Horizon 3 projects.
Crowd Media chair Mr Steven Schapera and director Mr Robert Quandt will take over the reins, moving into interim executive roles. The company stated it will now begin the search to find a replacement CEO for Mr Carosa. Mr Carosa maintains a 6% holding of Crowd Media shares.
What did management say?
Mr Schapera praised Mr Carosa on his efforts to turn the company around. He said:
Domenic has demonstrated honesty, integrity, and true grit during his time at Crowd. Under his leadership he now hands over a stable ship, a stronger balance sheet, and – most importantly – a company that now has the capability to translate the most recent advances in AI research into innovations that will reshape the way consumers think about e-commerce experiences and move us closer to our $1B target.
Retiring CEO Mr Carosa commented:
This has been a very hard decision for me to take after so many years as CEO, but the time feels right for me to hand over the role to someone else so that I can focus on my fintech opportunity. My interests are aligned with Crowd via my shareholding and Directorship and I have confidence in our Chairman Steven Schapera and the team and will continue to assist in any way I can.
Crowd Media share price snapshot
Despite today's drop, the Crowd Media share price has performed well over the last twelve months, increasing by 150%.
Crowd Media shares hit an all-time low of 1 cent back in March, before gradually increasing along a wobbly path. Travelling on ups and downs until October, the company's shares shot up to reach a multi-year high of 10 cents in November 2020.
Based on the current Crowd Media share price, the company commands a market capitalisation of around $31 million.
