Carl J. Schramm has resigned from the MoviePass Board of Directors, saying that the ticketing company withheld important financial information and made influential decisions without the board’s input.
In a letter dated Aug. 25, Schramm wrote, “Just last week, I learned that management withheld material information from the Board for several months. These and other actions have interfered with my ability to exercise my responsibilities as a board member. Taken together, they confirm that, despite my best efforts, my ability to effectively discharge my duties as a director has been compromised beyond repair.”
He added, “Accordingly, effective immediately, I hereby resign from the Board of Directors of Helios and Matheson Analytics, Inc., and from any and all committees of which I am a member.”
MoviePass parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics, Inc., in an SEC filing, responded, “The Company is unaware of any unanswered requests for information by Mr. Schramm. The Board and committees of which Mr. Schramm was a member have met at least 25 times at duly convened meetings thus far in 2018, and the Company firmly believes that it has kept the Board fully informed and has provided all information needed for Board members to exercise their responsibilities.”
Additionally, “the Company firmly believes all Board and committee meetings have been duly noticed and held, and no material information has been withheld from any Board member.”
Schramm is the former CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes entrepreneurship.
MoviePass and its parent company Helios & Matheson Analytics have suffered a tumultuous, often depressing summer. In the last three months alone Helios & Matheson’s stock has declined 99 percent as the company has pulled out nearly all the stops to try to buoy a sinking MoviePass.
Earlier this month, MoviePass settled on a new plan for subscribers, making tweaks to its business and service, after a run of back-and-forth announcements that saw the company promise at one point to raise the monthly price to $15. That didn’t ultimately happen.
Since acquiring MoviePass last August, Helios & Matheson has poured tens of millions of dollars into the company, as it fueled subscriber growth. MoviePass managed to sign up roughly 3 million users in less than a year after initially overhauling its business in August 2017. However, in its most recent quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Helios & Matheson said it had a net loss of $63.4 million for the three months ending June 30.