I don't like it either, especially the manner in which it was suddenly foisted upon shareholders without any prior warning or proper explanation.
Yeah it's not welcome news for me @Valueinvestor0909
As the founder and driving force behind he business, I would have much preferred it if Steven Newman was sticking around. I may have missed it, but i wasn't aware either that this was on the cards.
Yeah, succession planning may have been in train for a while, but this is just part of normal contingency planning as I see it.
It's really hard to know what's behind the move. It could be totally innocuous and entirely unrelated to his view of the business (eg perhaps some family or health issues), or something else.
The news isn't enough to cause me to sell out -- it still seems well placed to grow sales and cash flows in the coming years -- but will certainly be interested to see who the replacement is.