Braemar Hotels & Resorts’ largest shareholder, Al Shams Investments Limited, has nominated five candidates for election to the trust’s board of directors, per a Monday news release.
The nominations include real estate finance executive Jennifer Bitterman; real estate investor and operator Jonathan Klein; institutional investor, research analyst and public company director Anna Massion; finance expert and former Treasurer to The Queen of England Sir Michael Peat; and attorney and corporate governance expert Wayne Walker. The candidates will stand for election at Braemar’s annual shareholder meeting on Nov. 13.
Last week, Al Shams expressed intent to propose “a complete slate of highly qualified, independent directors” to Braemar’s board amid its clash with the trust over its decision to split from Ashford Inc. and become self-managed.
Braemar announced the transition in June, ending a monthslong strategic review process. At that time, Al Shams alleged Braemar’s split from Ashford constituted “self-dealing.” Braemar later denied these claims.
“We believe the governance of Braemar has failed to adequately serve the interests of its shareholders and that the time has come to offer an alternative,” Al Shams said in a Monday statement regarding the nominations.
“We have no doubt that these individuals bring considerable experience and expertise across real estate, finance, investing, law, accounting and corporate governance,” Al Shams continued. “We believe that, if elected, they can apply this considerable experience and expertise to the governance, oversight and other matters that come before the Board.”
As part of its transition to become self-managed, Braemar previously announced it would identify five new independent board members, with all of its existing directors stepping down except for CEO Richard Stockton.
Braemar did not reply to a request for comment by the time of publication.
