Long-serving a2 Milk chief Geoffrey Babidge, now returned on an interim basis after the abrupt departure of his successor, Jayne Hrdlicka, made his fortune in his eight years heading the company. And fair enough, given it listed at a mere 56¢ halfway through his tenure and closed at $14 on Monday.

Hrdlicka, a former Bain consultant who took over in mid-2018, didn't do too badly either. If you add her $1.5 million-a-year salary, free shares (mostly since sold) and other transition benefits, her realised pay across the 18 months she headed the trans-Tasman dairy juggernaut totalled $10.2 million. At least.