Concerned Shareholders of Oportun Financial Corporation Reiterate Call for Nominating, Governance and Social Responsibility Committee Chair Ginny Lee to Resign
Group Outlines Reasons Why Ms. Lee Should Resign, Including Significant Value Destruction During Her Tenure and an Apparent Inability to Hold Management Accountable
Reminds Ms. Lee That She Failed to Receive Support from a Majority of the Outstanding Shares in Uncontested Election at the 2024 Annual Meeting
Bradley Radoff and Josh Schechter (together with their affiliates, the "Concerned Shareholders" or "we") today issued the below open letter to Ginny Lee, a member of Oportun Financial Corporation's (NASDAQ:OPRT) Board of Directors.
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August 22, 2024
Oportun Financial Corporation
2 Circle Star Way
San Carlos, California 94070
Attention: Ginny Lee, Member of Oportun Financial Corporation's Board of Directors
Dear Ms. Lee,
We are writing to follow up on our July 25th letter to the Board in which we called for you to resign. Your track record as a director, as Chair of the Nominating, Governance and Social Responsibility Committee and as a member of the Compensation and Leadership Committee has been marked by poor financial results and an apparent failure to hold management accountable for significant value destruction.
We believe you should immediately resign from Oportun's Board based on the following points:
- During your tenure on the Board, Oportun has destroyed significant shareholder value and underperformed its peers and relevant indices. Since you joined the Board in 2021, Oportun has delivered a -87.68% total shareholder return, while OneMain Holdings (NYSE:OMF) and the Russell 2000 returned 8.46% and -1.08%, respectively.1
- As a member of the Compensation and Leadership Committee, you bear responsibility for signing off on rewarding CEO Raul Vazquez with outsized compensation for poor financial results, given that the Company's executive compensation program is largely based on non-GAAP metrics.
- It is apparent to us that you are not able to objectively oversee management because you lack a strong understanding of what it means to serve as a director. Your lack of prior public company board experience only adds to our concerns about your ability to effectively govern.
- Just 28.4% of the total outstanding shares supported your uncontested re-election at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Without the votes of Findell Capital Management, which was legally obligated to vote for you, you only received support from 21.9% of the total outstanding shares. This represents a clear message from shareholders that you should assume accountability for your apparent failure to act in the best interests of the Company and its investors.
Shareholders deserve better than a director who refuses to make the necessary changes to improve Oportun. A continuation of the dismal status quo is not acceptable to investors who have already suffered significant value destruction. We urge you to do the right thing by resigning from the Board immediately.
Sincerely,
Brad Radoff & Josh Schechter
1 Bloomberg. Total shareholder return data runs from September 1, 2021 through August 21, 2024.
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