Amends Made, Green Dot Appoints a Formerly Hostile Investor as a Board Advisor

Ten months after prepaid payments specialist Green Dot Corp. made amends with investor Harvest Capital Strategies LLC over a dispute about the company’s direction, Green Dot is adding a Harvest executive as an observer and advisor to its board of directors, the company announced Monday.

Pasadena, Calif.-based Green Dot says Jeffrey B. Osher, a managing partner at San Francisco-based Harvest, was invited to be an advisor.

“Jeff’s firm, Harvest, and I, personally, are among the company’s largest shareholders, and I expect our financial alignment will further serve to enhance the company’s significant progress over the past year,” Steve W. Streit, Green Dot founder, director and chief executive, said in a press release.

Last May, following the spring proxy fight between the two companies, two individuals nominated by Harvest for positions on Green Dot’s board of directors were elected to the board. In another outcome from Harvest’s efforts, Streit lost the chairman role in June when William I. Jacobs was elected to the office.

Osher, likewise, seemingly has moved past last year’s dispute. “Guided by Steve’s successful leadership and strategic vision, Green Dot has done an outstanding job methodically executing against its six-step plan,” Osher said in the press release. “The solid financial performance has resulted in market-leading shareholder value creation over the past year. Steve and his entire team should be gratified by their notable accomplishments, and I believe Green Dot’s future is as bright as ever.”

Meanwhile, Green Dot announced a $50 million stock repurchase plan.