Revolving door of executives at David Jones and NAB
Three top Australian executives all fell on their swords yesterday for scandalous reasons in a horror day for Australian business.
Three top Australian executives all fell on their swords yesterday for scandalous reasons in a horror day for Australian business.
The bloodbath began at midday when David Jones announced its chief executive David Thomas had resigned from the department store chain three months after a discrimination complaint was placed against him in November.
A company spokesman said an external legal team had investigated the complaint but found nothing to substantiate the allegations.
KEN HENRY: ‘I SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE OPEN’
The spokesman said Mr Thomas was resigning for “personal reasons”, but added the retailer does not condone discrimination and is focused on fostering “an inclusive culture and workplace for its team that does not differentiate based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.”
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Shortly after the shock announcement National Australia Bank ousted both its chief executive Andrew Thorburn and chairman Ken Henry.
The writing had been on the wall for both leaders following the damaging comments made by royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne in his final report released on Monday.
Mr Hayne said the two bank boffins had not learned their lessons from past scandals at the lender, and singled out Mr Henry — the former Treasury Secretary — saying he was “unwilling to accept any criticism of how the board had dealt with some issues.”
“NAB also stands apart from the other three major banks,” Mr Hayne wrote in his scathing report.
“Having heard from both the CEO, Mr Thorburn, and the chair, Dr Henry, I am not as confident as I would wish to be that the lessons of the past have been learned.”
These remarks on Monday immediately placed the two executives under sustained pressure, with shareholders and media calling for them to stand down.
Mr Henry, who earned $790,000 last year in directors fees, apologised yesterday for his lacklustre performance at the royal commission and said he was resigning.
“I certainly accept that I could have performed much better in the witness box. I’ve reflected a lot on those hearings over the past couple of months and yep I certainly could have done a better job. I certainly should have done a better job no doubt about that,” he said.
Mr Henry said the resignations of both himself and his CEO Mr Thorburn marked a “sad day” for NAB.
“I’ve reflected in recent times on our inability as a company to meet community expectations and customer expectations in the manner that we would aspire to. Andrew and I are deeply sorry for our inability to do that,” Mr Henry said.
“That’s principally what has driven the decisions that have been taken today.”
Mr Thorburn, who earned $4.3 million last year, was appointed CEO of NAB in August 2014. He had been keen to continue as leader of the Melbourne-based bank despite the criticism but by Thursday after sustained pressure accepted he had to resign.
“I acknowledge that the bank has sustained damage as a result of its past practices and comments in the royal commission’s final report about them,” Mr Thorburn said.
“I recognise there is a desire for change. As a result, I spoke with the board and offered to step down as CEO, and they have accepted my offer.”
Mr Thorburn said he had “always acted with integrity” and in the best interests of the bank and customers. His last day at NAB will be February 29 while Mr Henry will stay as chair until a replacement CEO is appointed.
Mr Thomas’ time at David Jones has already finished with Ian Moir, the head of David Jones’ South African owner Woolworths running the retailer in the interim.
Mr Thomas’ salary has not been disclosed by David Jones but his predecessor John Dixon was paid $1.9 million in 2017.
David Jones yesterday said Mr Thomas had resigned “for personal reasons”.
However it confirmed that a complaint against him for discriminatory behaviour had been levelled against him in November last year. The external legal team investigated the allegations but could not substantiate the allegations.
The Daily Telegraph has subsequently found a second allegation that Mr Thomas made homophobic slurs against another member of staff this resulted in a complaint that led to his “resignation”.
When contacted by The Daily Telegraph yesterday he said he had “no comment to make”.
“I’m running into my kids basketball training and I won’t be able to talk I’m afraid,” he said.
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