The shareholder group represented by Veraison has said it opposes the Aryzta's board proposal to appoint Andreas Schmid as the company's new chairman and has instead proposed Urs Jordi for the position.
The shareholder group said it is "convinced" that the new chairman must not only have a deep knowledge of the bakery industry, but also a broad network in the industry to put Aryzta back on the right track.
Furthermore, he must have sufficient time to address the challenges immediately, it added.
"Urs Jordi meets all these requirements and is therefore the right candidate to be chairman of the board of Aryzta.
"The alternative candidate, Andreas Schmid, on the other hand, serves on numerous boards and has still not yet communicated from which mandates he would resign and when, to have enough time to focus on Aryzta," it stated.
The shareholder group also called on the board of directors of Aryzta to clarify without delay how it intends to conduct the EGM so that all shareholders can exercise their voting rights.
The maker of Cuisine de France bread has been struggling with debts after a failed acquisition spree.
It pushed back its EGM to September 16. The meeting had originally been planned for mid-August.
Meanwhile, investor advisory group Glass Lewis said that given the magnitude and urgency of the problem facing Aryzta, it also believes it would be appropriate to support the call to appoint Urs Jordi as chairman of the board.
Glass Lewis said that while Aryzta's nominee Andreas Schmid is no doubt a seasoned executive, it believes he does not have the same level of bakery industry operating experience as Mr Jordi.
The investor advisory group also said it was concerned that Mr Schmid does appear to have a number of outside commitments that would likely distract from his ability to effectively oversee a turnaround of the company.
"Moreover, in our conversation with Mr Schmid, Glass Lewis found him to be highly differential to the incumbent leadership team and to a status quo at Aryzta that is clearly not working, in our opinion," it added.
Earlier, it emerged that US hedge fund Elliott Management Corp is exploring a bid for Switzerland-based baking company Aryzta.
This is according to Bloomberg News, who cited people familiar with the matter.
Elliott has been studying a potential offer for Aryzta, according to the report.
The deliberations are at an early stage, and there is no certainty Elliott will proceed with a formal offer, Bloomberg News said.
Bloomberg last month reported the baked goods company was attracting interest from potential private equity bidders including Apollo Global Management and Cerberus Capital Management, as well as Canadian grocery and baking giant George Weston..
Aryzta, which makes McDonald's hamburger buns and Otis Spunkmeyer cookies, appointed Rothschild & Co in May to review its strategic and financial options.
Shares in the Irish-Swiss baked goods group soared over 19% in Dublin trade today.
