Ex-Cano Health directors’ plan fails at shareholder meeting

Cano Health shareholders reelected Dr. Alan Muney and Kim Rivera to the company’s board Thursday, a win for Dr. Marlow Hernandez, the embattled CEO of the primary care company. 

The reelection thwarts the plan of three former Cano directors who asked shareholders to withhold support for Muney and Rivera. In March, Barry Sternlicht, a billionaire real estate investor; Dr. Lewis Gold, co-founder of Sheridan Healthcare; and Elliot Cooperstone, managing partner of InTandem Capital Partners, resigned from the Cano board and called for Hernandez’s removal. 

The three former directors, who hold 35.7% of Cano’s shares, contended that Hernandez has mismanaged the company and claimed other directors excluded them from conversations. By attempting to get shareholders to withhold support for Muney and Rivera, the three said they wanted to send a “clear message” to Hernandez and other directors. 

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The three ex-directors also sought to reopen the nomination window for directors by filing a preliminary injunction with Delaware Court of Chancery last Friday to prevent Cano from conducting the annual meeting of stockholders. That motion was denied.

In an emailed statement, Cano Health Chairman Solomon Trujillo acknowledged there was a significant “withhold” vote but expressed support for Muney and Rivera. He said Sternlicht, Gold and Cooperstone have misrepresented events and accused them of having a self-serving agenda. 

A company spokesman declined to provide details on the vote, saying it would be included in a regulatory filing.

A spokesperson for the threeex-directors did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Trujillo, a communications executive and serial investor who has served as an independent director since 2021, was named Cano’s chairman in April. Hernandez stayed on as a director.  

In May, the company said it intends to focus on its Medicare Advantage business and sell non-core assets. In a statement released after the meeting, Trujillo said the board is directing its energy to executing that strategy. Among the former directors’ complaints was the company’s unwillingness to sell non-core assets.