Martin Aircraft founder Glenn Martin quits board over strategy differences; shares fall

Thursday 4th June 2015

Martin Aircraft shares fell after founder Glenn Martin unexpectedly quit the board, reportedly because the backyard jetpack inventor wasn't enjoying the company's corporate culture and pursuit of professional customers.

The shares declined 3.2 percent to 75.5 Australian cents on the ASX, having retreated from as much as A$1.52 on March 25. The company debuted on the ASX on Feb. 24, after raising A$27 million to fund the commercialisation of its jetpack in an initial public offering at 40 Australian cents a share.

Ahead of going public, the company had touted a letter of intent from the US Department of Homeland Security for the provision of jetpacks and had said it had a potential sale in the oil industry. But the NZ Herald today reported that Glenn Martin was unhappy with the Christchurch based company's direction, saying he wasn't comfortable at corporate events like the Paris Air Show, where attendees included military organisations.

"I'm not a corporate beast - I'm an inventor of a jet pack ... that people want to fly around in," Martin told the Herald. "It wasn't any fun for me anymore."

Chairman Jon Mayson said Martin emailed his resignation on June 2, about an hour before Mayson was due to get on a flight to Shenzhen, China, for a board meeting yesterday. Shenzhen is the base of KuangChi Science, Martin's biggest shareholder. Glenn Martin is the third biggest investor with 15.6 percent.

"I'm sorry that for whatever reason, he feels he can't continue on the journey," Mayson said. "Martin Aircraft would not exist without all the hard work he has done. Nothing has changed - he's the founder, his name's on the company and he's a large shareholder."

Mayson declined to comment on whether differences over strategy had emerged at board meetings. The company was proceeding with its strategy and nothing had happened since the float to suggest things weren't going to plan, he said.

"We're well funded to deliver on the promise of getting jetpacks into production," he said.

Other projects include development of an unmanned aircraft to target the US$98 billion unmanned aerial vehicle market.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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