Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron’s bitter legal war with ex-CEO Christine Proctor

Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron is being sued by the former CEO of her investment company who claims she was “illegally sacked” and is now seeking $200,000. See why.

The former chief executive of Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron’s private investment company claims she was illegally sacked for raising concerns about reputational damage from the millionaire businesswoman’s corporate crimes.

In a lawsuit filed last week with the Federal Circuit Court, Christine Proctor also claims she was fired after raising concerns about backpackers who were paid “off the books” cash to work on the retail magnate’s rural properties.

Ms Proctor’s employment contract, filed with the court, shows she was paid $350,000 a year plus perks including a return trip to Europe, flying business class, every year to be CEO of Ms Cameron’s Bicheno Investments.

She is seeking $200,000 in wages, super and penalties.

Jan Cameron founded outdoorswear chain Kathmandu. Picture: AAP

Documents filed with the court by Ms Proctor show her relationship with Ms Cameron, who is one of Australia’s richest women, broke down in early March as the businesswoman awaited sentencing for two criminal offences related to an elaborate scheme in which she used a company in Caribbean tax haven Curacao, Black Prince Private Foundation, to hide her ownership of about 15 per cent of baby formula company Bellamy’s.

In December Ms Cameron, who is estimated to be worth more than $450m, was found guilty of failing to disclose a substantial shareholding and making a false or misleading statement in a document lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

On March 28, the Hobart Magistrates Court fined Ms Cameron $8000. She has appealed the convictions.

Jan Cameron outside Hobart Magistrates Court in March. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

In Federal Circuit Court documents Ms Proctor alleges that in between the verdict and sentencing she repeatedly raised concerns about the “reputational risk” to her and Bicheno by continuing to be associated with Ms Cameron.

She claims she had also been raising concerns since early February about “two backpackers who were discovered as being part-paid in cash personally arranged” by Ms Cameron to work on a Bicheno property.

The arrangement raised payroll tax and occupational health and safety issues as the employees were “essentially both on and off the books, and would be at risk of not being covered by workplace injury insurance”, Ms Proctor claims.

She alleges that at a meeting on Saturday, March 9, Ms Cameron told her she found her antagonistic, couldn’t “see a way forward” to continue working together, and didn’t “need to be exposed to the stress”.

Christine Proctor. Picture: LinkedIn

Ms Proctor was fired in a March 12 email from Ms Cameron’s lawyer, Ben Swain of Murdoch Clarke.

In the email, filed with the court, Mr Swain thanked Ms Proctor for her “efforts, support and dedication” to the company.

“It is with much regret that the working relationship between you and Jan has reached this point where it cannot continue,” he said.

Ms Proctor is a former executive at Kathmandu, where she held a number of roles including general manager of Australia over six years in the early to mid 2000s.

The Kiwi then spent three years at Westfield managing the group’s shopping centres before a brief stint running Bay Leather Republic for troubled South African retail group Steinhoff.

She returned to Ms Cameron’s employment as chief executive of her private family office in June 2021, more than a year after ASIC launched legal action over Ms Cameron’s secret Bellamy’s shares.

There is no suggestion Ms Proctor had anything to do with the hidden shareholding.

Reached for comment on her lawsuit against Ms Cameron, Ms Proctor said: “I have no comment to make on this matter.”

Ms Cameron has yet to lodge a defence and could not be reached by email and text message.

Originally published as Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron’s bitter legal war with ex-CEO Christine Proctor