Bhagwan slashes its board
National vessel operator Bhagwan Marine has slashed the size of its board from five to three, as executives knuckle down to chase work amid the oil and gas price slump.
Chief operating officer Darren Kolln has resigned as a director of the private equity-controlled company, ahead of moving from Bhagwan's Geraldton headquarters to run its Perth office.
His departure from the board follows that of former Catalyst Investment Managers executive Aaron Hood in November. Mr Hood left Catalyst to become chief executive of billionaire Andrew Forrest's private company Minderoo Group.
That leaves Bhagwan managing director Loui Kannikoski, Catalyst managing director John Story and independent chairman Anthony Wooles.
Mr Kannikoski said Mr Kolln had quit as a director partly to maintain an equal balance between the Bhagwan and Catalyst representatives, as well as for operational reasons.
"Darren being firmly entrenched in operations, we've found it's taken up too much of his time also representing the board," Mr Kannikoski said.
"The way the industry is at the moment, we're all working harder to fill the gaps in the construction era coming off a little bit.
"We're flat out moving around . . . It's really to give Darren more time to get out on the street and do the stuff he's good at."
The acquisitive Bhagwan operates about 170 vessels around Australia with 850 employees. It last year bought a UK operator with an eye on European and African offshore work.
Mr Kannikoski is tipping revenue will fall this financial year from the past year's $244 million, which produced a profit of $27 million.
"We've had these dips . . . before," he said. "It's a matter of how you come out the other side."
