Route1 Founder and CEO to Nominate Directors to Replace the Current
Board
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 20, 2009) - K. Andrew White,
Founder, President and CEO, Director of the Board, and an owner of
8.5% of the common stock of Route1 Inc. ("Route1" or the "Company")
(TSX VENTURE: ROI) announced today that he intends to nominate a
slate of Directors to replace the existing Board of Directors at the
Company's Annual General and Special Meeting, scheduled for August
19, 2009. Mr. White intends to file and distribute a circular to
Route1 shareholders shortly.
Mr. White will be nominating for election at the Company's Annual
General and Special Meeting a slate of Directors to be headed by
Michael D. Harris to help position the Company for growth.
Mike Harris was Premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and was first
elected to the Ontario Legislature in 1981 representing the northern
Ontario riding of Nipissing. Currently President of his own
consulting firm, Mr. Harris serves as an advisor to a leading
Canadian law firm, Goodmans LLP, and several Canadian companies. Mr.
Harris also serves on the boards of several public companies
including Magna International Inc. (Lead Director and Chairman of the
Corporate Governance and Compensation Committee), Chartwell Seniors
Housing REIT (Chairman of the Board of Trustees and member of the
Compensation, Governance and Nominating Committee), Canaccord Capital
Inc. (Chairman of the Corporate Governance and Compensation
Committee), EnGlobe Corporation (Chairman of the Board), Augen
Capital Corp. (Chairman of the Board), FirstService Corporation, and
ENMAX Corporation.
Mr. Harris is also a Director of the Tim Horton Children's Foundation
and the Mount Royal College Foundation. He is a Senior Fellow with
the Fraser Institute, a leading Canadian economic, social research
and education organization.
"I believe Route1 has turned a major corner and is now poised for
significant growth," stated Michael Harris. "I am excited to serve on
a Board that works with a management team led by Andrew White. He has
built a business in an area of world leading technology, this is
exactly the kind of company that Ontario and Canada need."
Mr. White added, "I am delighted to have Mr. Harris lead Route1's
board of directors. His experience in board stewardship, corporate
governance, management of capital markets and growing businesses will
be a valuable asset as the Company pursues its objective of
transformational growth. Route1 was founded on ground breaking
technology and it is this technology that has allowed us to become a
leader in security and identity management network solutions. With
our recently announced results, we now talk about our business model
not on a basis of if and when it will translate into economic returns
for our shareholders, rather how big the returns will be."
Background
Mr. White approached Ian Currie, the current Chair of the Board of
the Company, in May 2009 about making significant changes to the
current Board of Directors to better reflect the needs of the Company
as it moves into 2010 and beyond. Specifically, Mr. White is of the
strong belief that the current Board is not engaged in supporting
management in the furtherance of Route1's business objectives. To
date, the Board has resisted making any changes to its composition.
Based on their most recent SEDI filings, the current Board of
Directors owns less than 1,977,240 common shares in the Company,
which amounts to less than 1% of the common stock issued and
outstanding.
"Route1 is currently handicapped by a disinterested Board of
Directors that has provided minimal support to the initiatives of
management. I am disappointed that the reaction of the board to my
proposed changes is to seek to entrench themselves at the expense of
the company," Mr. White said. "As shareholders we expect and deserve
to have a Board of Directors comprised of engaged business leaders
who have personally delivered transformative value to shareholders
and stakeholders. We want individuals to join our board who want to
work with management to deliver on the exceptional shareholder value
creation opportunity that is real and present."
Note
This press release is not, and is not to be construed to be, a
solicitation of proxies. Solicitation of proxies will only be made by
information circular to be sent to Route1's shareholders, Route1 and
Route1's auditors. The information circular will contain important
detailed information about the solicitation of proxies, the upcoming
shareholder meeting, the proposed slate of directors, Mr. White and
Route1. Route1's shareholders should read Mr. White's information
circular before making any voting decision.
Forward Looking Statements
Except for historical information provided herein, this press release
may contain information and statements of a forward-looking nature
concerning the future performance of Route1. These statements are
based on suppositions and uncertainties as well as on the best
possible evaluation of future events. As a result, readers are
advised that actual results may differ from expected results.
Contacts:
Route1 Inc.
K. Andrew White
andrew.route1@gmail.com
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
