Freightos Founder Escalates Boardroom Battle to Crucial Shareholder Vote

Freightos founder takes board fight to shareholder vote

Freightos founder Zvi Schreiber’s campaign to change the company’s leadership and strategic direction is headed for a contested shareholder vote at the company’s annual meeting in December.

The Freightos board has agreed to present Schreiber’s proposals to shareholders, pending confirmation of the meeting date. The dispute centers on the company’s emphasis on its software and data business compared with its digital freight-booking platform.

Schreiber, who owns approximately 6% of Freightos, has submitted three resolutions. One would remove Chairman Udo Lange as a director. A second would require directors to stand for election every year instead of serving staggered three-year terms. The third is a nonbinding recommendation calling for the appointment of a chairman with experience scaling growth-stage technology companies and for a renewed focus on rapid platform growth.

Schreiber said Freightos has declined to put the strategy recommendation to a shareholder vote. The company did not directly address that claim in its response.

Freightos is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Its directors currently serve in separate classes, with different groups standing for election at successive annual meetings. Changing the system to annual elections would require an amendment to the company’s articles of association.

Schreiber said the proposed changes are intended to make Freightos’ leadership more accountable to shareholders. He specifically pointed to the company’s share-price performance and said Lange should take responsibility as chairman.

“It’s certainly not a personal thing, but the board has gone in the wrong direction and delivered very bad results for shareholders, and the chairman should take responsibility,” Schreiber said.

He also said annual elections would give investors a more frequent opportunity to evaluate directors.

“That way, the directors are more answerable to shareholders, and we get to decide every year if we’re pleased with the job they’re doing or not,” he said.

Founder challenges the company’s strategic shift

Schreiber founded Freightos in 2012. He had agreed to step down as CEO effective Jan. 31, 2026, but later resigned from the board on Feb. 28. CFO Pablo Pinillos became CEO after Schreiber’s departure.

Schreiber said his principal reason for leaving the board was the company’s decision to prioritize its Solutions business, which sells software and data products, over its digital booking platform. He also objected to what he described as a slower pace of growth.

He said the strategy was especially concerning as artificial intelligence makes software products easier to develop and replicate.

“To bet that company on solutions first, just when AI is really threatening it, I thought that was a very bad decision,” Schreiber said.

Freightos operates a digital platform that connects airlines, freight forwarders and shippers for pricing, booking and management of international freight. Its Solutions business provides subscription software and data services to logistics companies.

The company’s latest results showed different trends in the two parts of the business. Freightos reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $7.7 million, up 3% from the same period a year earlier. Platform revenue increased 19% to $2.9 million, while Solutions revenue declined 4% to $4.8 million.

Freightos’ Solutions business had grown more strongly in 2025, when revenue rose 27% to $19.6 million. Solutions accounted for about 62% of the company’s total revenue that year, compared with 38% for the Platform business.

The company remains unprofitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis. It reported a $2 million adjusted EBITDA loss in the second quarter, an improvement from a $2.9 million loss a year earlier.

Schreiber said Freightos should place greater emphasis on the marketplace and its transaction-based business.

“The two principles which I always supported are to grow as fast as you can, and grow primarily the platform, the transactional business. That is where the future is,” he said.

AI adds to the technology debate

The disagreement reflects a broader question for freight technology companies: whether software products or digital marketplaces will provide the stronger long-term competitive advantage as AI tools advance.

Schreiber argues that AI can make conventional software easier for competitors to reproduce. He believes Freightos’ marketplace has a different type of value because it relies on carrier relationships, access to capacity and a network that connects participants across the freight industry.

“AI can write software in minutes, but AI can’t go and negotiate with airlines around the world and build a network,” Schreiber said.

For freight forwarders, shippers and carriers, the distinction could affect how digital booking, pricing and capacity-management tools develop. AI may improve the speed and efficiency of freight workflows, while also increasing pressure on companies whose products are primarily software-based.

Freightos’ business includes both types of operations, making the strategic decision particularly important. The company must continue developing its booking platform while determining how its software and data products fit into a market where technology can be built and updated more quickly.

Shareholders will decide in December

Schreiber’s campaign followed roughly three months of correspondence and legal pressure involving the company. He said he initially waited to challenge the board publicly because he wanted to give management time to demonstrate that its strategy would produce results.

Freightos shares have declined about 78% over the past year, while the Nasdaq Composite gained roughly 16% during the same period, according to historical index data cited by Schreiber. The comparison provides context for his concerns about shareholder returns, although it does not establish the reasons for the stock’s performance.

Freightos said its board and management are aware of Schreiber’s communications and proposals and will evaluate them under the company’s governing documents and fiduciary responsibilities.

“The Board and management remain fully focused on executing our operational strategy and delivering long-term value for all Freightos shareholders,” the company said.

The company did not directly respond to Schreiber’s criticisms of its growth plans, shareholder returns or exposure to AI-related competition.

The December vote will give Freightos shareholders a formal opportunity to weigh the company’s leadership structure and strategic direction. It will also test investor support for a greater emphasis on digital freight transactions as Freightos works to grow revenue and move toward profitability.