Ecofibre has confirmed the exit of managing director and chief executive Eric Wang, who has stepped down after seven years leading the company.
The company issued a short statement confirming Wang had tendered his resignation, which the board accepted.
His departure took effect immediately.
Wang first joined Ecofibre in 2016 as chief financial officer, brought on at the request of then-chairman Barry Lambert, before ascending to the CEO position the following year.
The resignation comes just days after the company's annual general meeting, at which Wang acknowledged that Ecofibre had fallen short of shareholder expectations.
In FY23, the company recorded a headline loss of nearly A$40m and a normalised loss of $19.4m as it underwent an operational restructure — a result that followed a difficult FY22 marked by tough trading conditions across both its Ananda Health and Ananda Food divisions.
The weak performance carried into FY24, with Hemp Black revenue down 31% in the first quarter and Ananda Health sales dropping 28%, driven by a flat US market and reduced volumes in Australia.
Ananda Food was a bright spot, however, posting a 196% increase in sales.
"The last several years have been financially challenging and I have tested shareholders' patience," he said at last week's AGM. "However, I assure you that you have a highly committed management team with skin in the game focused on delivering our cashflow-positive plan and regaining your trust and confidence."
In his resignation statement released this morning, Wang said: "I would like to thank all of my fellow shareholders, staff and leadership team, and directors for all of their support and commitment over the past seven years."
Chair Vanessa Wallace paid tribute to Wang for his "unwavering commitment and drive… in building and growing the company".
Wallace will take on the CEO and MD roles on an interim basis while the company conducts a search for Wang's successor.
Wang said in an interview in 2022 that he and Lambert were aligned in their approach to business — that outcomes are what matter.
"Barry and I have always been the same, we don't like the bullshit because shareholders are smarter than that," he said. "You can hype something and the share price may jump for two days, but it will come right back down again."
He added: "I have been very fortunate to have a good shareholder base and a board that worked with me. But patience does run thin, there's no doubt about that, and it is my job to deliver."
