Christine Ramon has resigned from her position as chief executive of gaming and entertainment group Johnnic Holdings Limited.
Announcing her decision, Ramon said that recent developments, which saw the group’s plans to buy Nafhold fail following HCI becoming the company’s controlling shareholder, made it difficult for her to make a meaningful contribution to the strategic direction of the company.
“It is with great sadness that I have taken this decision, but with the change in effective control of Johnnic, I believe it is appropriate,” she said.
Ramon said that she could continue to honour her fiduciary responsibilities to the board during her six-month period of notice or until such time as a smooth hand-over could be effected.
Since taking the helm of Johnnic in September last year, Ramon has steered Johnnic through a challenging period of restructuring that has resulted in significant value for shareholders. Today, Johnnic is a far more valuable company than the company she inherited 16 months ago.
Most notably, the restructuring included the unbundling of the company’s 62,5% holding in Johncom to enable its repositioning as a niche hotels and gaming enterprise.
The proposed transaction with Nafhold would have provided a significant boost to this strategy, resulting in an immediate 34,5% stake in Tsogo Investment Holdings (TIH), with real prospects of increasing the stake. TIH controls the prize gaming group Tsogo Sun.
Commenting on Ramon’s resignation, Cyril Ramaphosa, Johnnic chairperson, said her resignation represents a great loss to the company and to him personally as a much-admired colleague.
“While deeply saddened by Christine’s decision, I fully understand and support her decision. We owe her a deep debt of gratitude for the conscientious and diligent manner in which she has managed the affairs of the company and spearheaded a strategy that would have ensured Johnnic’s position as a major player in the gaming sector.
“Nonetheless, I have every confidence that with her outstanding talents Christine will continue to go from strength to strength in her career. We all wish her all the very best.”
Regarding her future plans, Ramon said she is currently considering her options. — I-Net Bridge