Swiss police were called to Scott Sports HQ in Fribourg on Wednesday afternoon after what was described as a "dispute between managers" (reported by DayFR Euro). The incident has been linked to the appointment of a new CEO, with the bike manufacturing giants calling the change at the top a "refresh". Last week the Youngone Corporation, Scott's majority shareholder, replaced longstanding CEO, Beat Zaugg, with Juwon Kim, previously a board member.
Scott's new CEO, Juwon Kim, has 17 years of experience in investment banking and was head of growth strategy and mergers and acquisitions at Youngone, who also recently loaned Scott 150 million Swiss francs ($166 million).
It was also reported by Bicycle Retailer that the outgoing CEO, Beat Zaugg, had claimed he was still the brand's CEO, a minority shareholder and chairman of its parent company board, despite a Scott Sports press release stating that the board had removed him. Zaugg was quoted as saying, "This announcement was made to destabilize the company and its employees."
According to company history, Zaugg has been a part-owner of Scott Sports since 1998, and acquired a majority of the company in 2002, he subsequently increased his share to 100 percent in 2005. Youngone took over the majority position of 50.01 percent from Zaugg in 2015.
In a response to Zaugg's statement, Youngone said, "We understand that it may be difficult for Mr Zaugg to accept his termination (given his long-standing role as CEO). But this is ultimately irrelevant as a matter of law: the ultimate decision body of a company is the board of directors and the board is clearly entitled to terminate the employment with the CEO." The statement continued by saying, "that a majority of the board have resolved to terminate Mr. Zaugg as CEO with immediate effect and that termination has been duly notified to Mr. Zaugg last week. The reasons that led to this termination cannot be disclosed at this stage."
The corporate to and fro continued this week as several Fribourg police vehicles were seen outside the Scott Sports HQ. Police spokesperson, Bertrand Ruffieux, told DayFR Euro, "Nothing serious happened. We intervened in a civil matter, a dispute between managers. In this type of case, the police are called to the scene to find a way to open a discussion, and for people to understand each other. But there were no injuries or anyone arrested."
The report connects the police presence to the CEO replacement news, but that has not been confirmed. The Scott Sports press release that announced the change in CEO said, "The board of directors of Scott emphasizes that the long-standing commitment of majority shareholder Youngone to Scott remains central and is not called into question."
We have contacted Scott Sports for comment but have not had a response as yet.
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