Four directors, including former Liberal Party identity Dr John Hewson, have jumped from CBD Online, a listed company that was formed in 1999 to create building-specific Web sites for commercial properties in the CBDs of the world's major cities. The company's share price has been in steady decline since CBD Online took over Sydney e-business solutions company Halescom in January and shares were trading at about 4.4 cents before trading was halted on Thursday to announce the resignations of the directors.
Employees seemed stunned by the defections and are deeply concerned that they may indicate that the company will be closed. It is understood that some board members have been unhappy about the company's business model for some time.
The four who have gone included the chairman Dr John Hewson, plus non-executive directors James Neilsen and Robert Paterson. Finance director Richard Hasseldine has also quit, claiming he intends to pursue other commitments as finance director of Davstoc Investments.
To fill the void the board of CBD has called on Barry Moignard, a founder of CBD, to return as chairman. He is also founder and CEO of Davstoc Investments. In addition, Chris Powell has been appointed CFO. He was previously vice president of finance and administrator at Australian software developer Bullant Technology.