Freightos founder Zvi Schreiber forces board showdown to December vote

Freightos shares have fallen about 78% over the past year while the Nasdaq Composite gained roughly 16%, and founder Zvi Schreiber is now taking that performance gap directly to shareholders with a contested vote at the company's December annual general meeting.

The board has agreed to put Schreiber's proposals before investors, pending confirmation of the meeting date. Schreiber, who founded the digital freight-booking platform in 2012 and remains a roughly 6% shareholder, has submitted three resolutions, though Freightos has refused to put one of them to a vote, he said.

The proposals break down as follows:

• Removal of Chairman Udo Lange as a director
• A requirement that directors stand for election annually instead of the current three-year terms
• A nonbinding recommendation to appoint a chairman experienced in scaling growth-stage technology companies and refocus strategy on rapid platform growth — the resolution Schreiber says the company declined to table

Freightos did not directly comment on that claim in its response to FreightWaves.

What would the governance changes do?

Freightos is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its directors serve staggered three-year terms, with different classes standing for election at successive annual general meetings. Schreiber's special resolution would shorten those terms to one year, a change requiring an amendment to the company's articles of association.

He argues the change is needed to hold leadership accountable for shareholder returns. "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," Schreiber said.

On Lange specifically, Schreiber said the chairman should own the gap between Freightos' share-price performance and the broader market. "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," he said.

Schreiber stepped down as CEO effective Jan. 31, 2026, then resigned from the board entirely on Feb. 28. CFO Pablo Pinillos succeeded him as chief executive. The public campaign followed roughly three months of correspondence and legal pressure, and Schreiber said he initially held back to give the board room to prove its strategy. "To launch a public campaign against the board? That needs data," he said. "So I wanted to give them at least six months to prove themselves."

What do the numbers say about the strategy fight?

Freightos operates two businesses: a digital platform connecting airlines, freight forwarders and shippers to price, book and manage international freight, and a Solutions unit selling software and data products to logistics companies. Second-quarter revenue came in at $7.7 million, up 3% year over year — but the two halves moved in opposite directions.

Platform revenue rose 19% to $2.9 million, while Solutions revenue fell 4% to $4.8 million. The slowdown followed a stronger 2025, when Solutions revenue grew 27% to $19.6 million and generated about 62% of total revenue, versus 38% from the platform. Freightos remains unprofitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis, posting a $2 million second-quarter loss, an improvement from a $2.9 million loss a year earlier.

Schreiber said the August results convinced him the strategy of prioritizing Solutions while slowing platform growth was not delivering. He has since launched GrowCRGO, an initiative focused on his campaign for change at the company. "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.

Why does AI sharpen the dispute?

Schreiber argues artificial intelligence threatens to make software products easier to replicate, weakening vendors that sell software as their core advantage. Marketplaces, by contrast, rest on carrier relationships and network effects that code cannot copy.

"AI can write software in minutes, but AI can't go and negotiate with airlines around the world and build a network," Schreiber said. "To bet that company on solutions first, just when AI is really threatening it, I thought that was a very bad decision."

The question cuts both ways for Freightos: AI could improve pricing and booking workflows on its platform, but it could also lower barriers for competitors building applications for forwarders and shippers.

How has Freightos responded?

The company said its board and management are aware of the 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," Freightos said in a statement. It did not directly address the criticisms of its growth strategy, shareholder returns or AI positioning.

"I'm proud of Freightos and very passionate about it and very sad when I see it not being managed in the way which I think is right," Schreiber said.

The December vote will test investor confidence in Freightos' leadership at a moment when the company is still seeking revenue growth and profitability — and when the wider freight-tech sector faces the same strategic choice between software products and marketplace networks that Schreiber has framed as the core of his campaign.