It was not smart that supervisory board chairman Michael van Praag publicly said that Kroes, who had just been suspended, could not return. The fact that Van Praag and Kroes walked out together on Thursday evening after a crisis meeting and told their story together is good, but according to Geraeds it does not mean that it is over.
There must be a relationship of trust between a director and the supervisory board, because the board is not only an employer, but also a sounding board, he explains. “You have to be able to work together.” But other stakeholders also deserve an answer, such as sponsors, members, shareholders and fans. “All these people need to be reassured one by one.”
Titular director
In addition, Geraeds calls the way in which Kroes returned to Ajax “highly unusual”. Appointing someone as titular director is not a common way of working. A titular director is not registered with the Chamber of Commerce and is not administratively liable, but does carry out the job duties. “It sounds like a legal emergency to continue. The pressure is high and they have looked for a creative solution to create continuity,” he thinks.
Kroes’ return only makes any follow-up steps after the outcome of the investigation even more difficult, according to Geraeds. “Legally, this is about the order of things. You first want to have the facts on the table and then you buy time by suspending someone. Then, once you have the facts, you can continue with the question of trust and then you go public. .” That went wrong here. “Everything has literally mixed up here.”
