‘Never apologise for passion’: Bubs founder resigns as director as board spill looms

Bubs Australia founder Kristy Carr has urged female entrepreneurs to never apologise for their passion or grit to succeed as the infant formula maker confirmed her resignation as a non-executive director.

In a LinkedIn post published the night before Bubs’ ASX statement about her exit, Carr also wrote there would always be bullies who try to “bring you down” during the entrepreneurial journey, but noted they would not define one’s achievements.

The post and news of Carr’s resignation come amid speculation she will lead a group of investors in a push to oust the board and install former a2 Milk executive Peter Nathan as Bubs’ chief executive.

Long-running tensions at Bubs, which gained a tick of approval from US President Joe Biden last year, were laid bare earlier this month when the company told investors it was terminating Carr as chief executive due to her “failure to comply with reasonable board directions”.

Bubs’ executive chairman Dennis Lin had been demoted to the role of non-executive chairman in April, and his directorship was also terminated in May.

Last week, the company confirmed its chief financial officer Iris Ren had tendered her resignation.

On Wednesday morning, Bubs told investors that Carr and fellow non-executive director Dennis
Wuei-Chang Lin had both resigned from their roles as non-executive directors. The news came a day after the Australian Financial Review reported that Carr planned to lead an attempt to spill the Bubs board and install Nathan, who was the head of a2 Milk’s Asia Pacific operations until 2021.

Investors would need a combined holding of 5 per cent of the company to start the process of calling an extraordinary general meeting needed for a spill. Carr currently owns about 1.9 per cent of the company, according to Bloomberg.

In a post on LinkedIn on Tuesday evening, Carr said she was “Signing Off”.