Card Factory refuses to appoint extra female director to hit diversity target

Wakefield-based cardfactory says it is “not in the interests of shareholders” for the company to appoint another female director to hit a diversity target – despite a previous pledge to reach it by this month.
The six-person board of cardfactory currently includes two women – but the figure is below the recommended 40 per cent minimum level for female representation on the boards of listed companies.

Earlier this year, cardfactory had said it intended to reach the target by December 2024 after starting the year with six men and just one woman on its board. But in a new statement, the company said it “does not consider it to be in the interests of shareholders to recruit an additional director solely to achieve the 40 per cent recommendation”.

The announcement follows the company’s chairman surviving an attempt to oust him over concerns about the lack of board diversity.
Paul Moody, who has been non-executive chairman of the company since October 2018 and is a former CEO of Britvic, had seen 25 per cent of cardfactory’s shareholders vote against his reappointment at its AGM in June.

But following a consultation with cardfactory’s 12 largest institutional shareholders, the four who responded to it all backed him staying in post.

It follows concerns about the composition of the board not meeting diversity targets set by the Financial Conduct Authority on listed companies having boards with at least 40 per cent female membership. 

In the company’s annual report published earlier this year, Mr Moody said it was a “specific objective” of the board to meet the requirements by the end of 2024.

The board then added Pamela Powell as a senior non-executive director in June, with two male directors stepping down over the summer.

It meant one-third of the now six-person board are women, with Ms Powell joining existing director Indira Thambiah.

But cardfactory said today it would not be adding another director to meet the 40 per cent target despite the previous pledge in the annual report.