- After almost 11 years in the position
- Praise and thanks for Slater
- Susan Kennedy taking over
- Slater kept it short and said 53 words
(exechange) — Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2023 — Scott Slater, chief executive of Cadiz, leaves his position. As announced by Cadiz Inc. in a news release published on Thursday, December 7, 2023, and in a regulatory filing published on Friday, December 8, 2023, Scott S. Slater leaves his post as chief executive officer at the California water solutions company, after almost 11 years in the role, effective January 1, 2024.
Generally speaking, it raises questions when a CEO leaves his post at short notice.
Scott Slater’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Susan Kennedy, most recently Executive Chair of the Board of Directors at Cadiz Inc.
“Critical inflection point”
Cadiz did not give an explicit reason for Scott Slater’s departure from the CEO post. Kennedy stated: “Cadiz is at a critical inflection point. It’s time to scale up our development and operational capabilities.”
Precise information regarding Scott Slater’s future plans was not immediately available.
Share price decline since December 2018
The announcement follows a decline in Cadiz Inc.’s share price of 71% since December 2018.
In the position of CEO since 2013
Scott Slater became CEO of the Company in 2013.
Scott Slater plans to continue to serve as a senior advisor to the Company.
The Company also plans to create two new executive positions in 2024, one focused on development and operation of the Cadiz Water Supply and Storage Project and one focused on scaling the Company’s wholly owned water filtration business, ATEC Water Systems, LLC.
Slater plans to continue supporting Cadiz in 2024 in a consulting capacity, focused on completing numerous transactions related to the water supply and storage project, ATEC Systems, green hydrogen development and other commercial opportunities.
Scott S. Slater is the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, appointed to the role of President in April 2011 and Chief Executive Officer effective February 1, 2013.
In addition, Slater has been a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since February 2012.
Slater is an accomplished water rights transactional attorney and litigator and, in addition to his role at the Company, is a shareholder in Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, the nation’s leading water law firm.
For nearly 40 years, Slater has focused on negotiation of agreements and enacting policy related to the acquisition, distribution, and treatment of water.
He has served as lead negotiator on a number of important water transactions, including the negotiation of the largest conservation-based water transfer in U.S. history on behalf of the San Diego County Water Authority.
Slater serves on the Limoneira Company Board of Directors (NASDAQ: LMNR) and sits on its Executive and Risk Committees.
Slater also has an extensive background in state, federal and international water policy and is the author of California Water Law and Policy, the state’s leading treatise on the subject.
He has taught water law and policy courses at University of California, Santa Barbara, Pepperdine University, and the University of Western Australia, (China) among others.
He is presently advising the nation of Tunisia on water policy.
53 words by Scott Slater
In the release announcing his departure as CEO of Cadiz Inc., Scott Slater received praise and thanks.
In announcing his departure, Scott Slater kept it short and said 53 words.
“Looking forward to seeing those assets monetized and scaled”
Scott Slater stated: “We’re in a strong position. I’m proud of the milestones we’ve reached and looking forward to helping the company jump to the next level of development. I am particularly proud of what we’ve accomplished with the acquisition of pipeline and technology assets and am looking forward to seeing those assets monetized and scaled.”
Push-out Score for Scott Slater’s move determined
The Push-out Score indicates on a scale of 0 to 10 how likely it is that Scott Slater was pushed out or felt pressure to leave his position.
exechange reached out to Cadiz and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 50.2023 ($).