{"id":918267,"date":"2025-12-10T08:04:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T13:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/all-three-leading-independent-proxy-advisors-recommend-unifirst-shareholders-vote-for-engine-capitals-new-director-candidates-at-2026-annual-meeting\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T08:04:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T13:04:24","slug":"all-three-leading-independent-proxy-advisors-recommend-unifirst-shareholders-vote-for-engine-capitals-new-director-candidates-at-2026-annual-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/all-three-leading-independent-proxy-advisors-recommend-unifirst-shareholders-vote-for-engine-capitals-new-director-candidates-at-2026-annual-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"All Three Leading Independent Proxy Advisors Recommend UniFirst Shareholders Vote \u201cFOR\u201d Engine Capital\u2019s New Director Candidates at 2026 Annual Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nAll Three Leading Independent Proxy Advisors Recommend UniFirst Shareholders Vote \u201cFOR<\/span><\/b>\u201d Engine Capital\u2019s New Director Candidates at 2026 Annual Meeting\n<\/p>\n

ISS, Glass Lewis, and Egan-Jones Send Strong Message to Independent Directors Joseph M. Nowicki, Sergio A. Pupkin, Raymond C. Zemlin, Cecilia McKenney, and Michael Iandoli That the Status Quo Is Untenable<\/i><\/p>\n

Engine Encourages UniFirst Former Employees and Other Stakeholders to Share Anonymous Feedback About Their Experiences at <\/i>www.SaveUniFirst.com<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Engine Reiterates its Belief That COO Kelly Rooney Is Not Fit to Serve as UniFirst\u2019s CEO and That Cynthia Croatti Bears Responsibility for the Company\u2019s Operational and Cultural Deterioration<\/i><\/p>\n

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE<\/a>)–
\nEngine Capital LP (together with its affiliates, \u201cEngine\u201d or \u201cwe\u201d), which owns approximately 3.2% of the outstanding shares of common stock of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) (\u201cUniFirst\u201d or the \u201cCompany\u201d), today announced that independent proxy advisory firms Glass, Lewis & Co. (\u201cGlass Lewis\u201d) and Egan-Jones Ratings Company (\u201cEgan-Jones\u201d) have joined Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (\u201cISS\u201d) in recommending that UniFirst shareholders vote \u201cFOR<\/span><\/b>\u201d the election of Engine\u2019s director candidates, Arnaud Ajdler<\/span> and Michael Croatti<\/span>, on the BLUE<\/span><\/b> universal proxy card at the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on December 15, 2025.\n<\/p>\n

\nEngine encourages former UniFirst employees and other stakeholders to share feedback about their experiences with the Company at www.SaveUniFirst.com<\/a>, where information can be shared confidentially and anonymously.\n<\/p>\n

\nMr. Ajdler, Founder and Managing Partner of Engine, commented:\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAll three leading independent proxy advisory firms have recommended shareholders vote against Joseph Nowicki and Steven Sintros and for Engine\u2019s nominees. These firms also highlighted the negative influence of Cynthia, Carol, and Matt Croatti as trustees controlling UniFirst at the expense of the common shareholders.\n<\/p>\n

\nThis election contest centers on three fundamental questions:\n<\/p>\n

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  1. \nShould the Board initiate a strategic review and engage with credible buyers to maximize value for all shareholders?\n<\/li>\n
  2. \nShould Mr. Sintros be made a scapegoat for issues that stem from long-standing governance and cultural failures caused by Cynthia Croatti?\n<\/li>\n
  3. \nShould UniFirst continue operating under a governance structure that has repeatedly failed to protect the interests of its common shareholders?\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \nWe hope shareholders will send a resounding message to the independent directors (Joseph M. Nowicki, Sergio A. Pupkin, Raymond C. Zemlin, Cecilia McKenney, and Michael Iandoli) that the answer is not to replace Mr. Sintros with an inexperienced and unproven leader. Instead, the independent directors should finally undertake the long overdue strategic alternatives process and pursue a sale of the Company for the benefit of the employees, customers, shareholders, and the corporation itself.\n<\/p>\n

    \nWe want to thank the former UniFirst employees who have reached out to us recently and provided invaluable feedback and insights into the organization. Your perspectives reinforce the findings from our initial diligence: UniFirst is suffering from a culture that prioritizes internal politics over performance, lacks meaningful operational oversight, and marginalizes employees who dare to raise concerns. Loyalty is rewarded over capability, to the detriment of the business. Against this backdrop, we remain deeply concerned that Cynthia Croatti may attempt to elevate COO Kelly Rooney to CEO despite Ms. Rooney\u2019s complete lack of experience leading a turnaround of this scale or complexity. The notion of promoting an untested and unproven executive to lead UniFirst is emblematic of the cultural issues at the Company. As one former employee put it, \u2018UniFirst has shifted from a performance-driven environment to one where deference and political alignment outweigh expertise.<\/i>\u2019 Former employees consistently pointed to Cynthia Croatti as the driving force behind this cultural deterioration and expressed disbelief that Carol and Matt Croatti continue to turn a blind eye while Cynthia Croatti dismantles \u2013 and ultimately destroys \u2013 the legacy of Aldo and Ron Croatti.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

    \nIn its report, Glass Lewis made the following points regarding the need for boardroom change:1<\/sup><\/p>\n