The boards of Australia’s listed companies have become too woke, says tech doyen Di Marco

Adrian Di Marco says the best people are staying away from public boards because listed companies have become too woke and that Donald Trump’s war on DEI is a ‘wake-up call’.

Adrian Mr Di Marco says diversity quotas being imposed on Australian boards are “ridiculous”. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Adrian Di Marco says the best people are staying away from public boards because listed Australian companies have become too woke and that Donald Trump’s war on diversity and inclusion programs is a ‘wake up call’.

Mr Di Marco, who received an Australia Day honour this year for his contribution to the nation’s tech sector, said diversity quotas imposed on Australian boards were “ridiculous” and prevented companies from hiring the best talent.

He said superannuation funds, with their investment mandates on diversity, had too much influence on how publicly traded businesses were run. “Now I no longer run a public company, I can say, the superannuation funds have got to get their act together. They need to adopt practices that support companies being more efficient,” said Mr Di Marco, who founded Brisbane-based software titan TechnologyOne.

“I mean, that whole Australian superannuation industry council … the things they promote, it is just crazy. It has just nothing to do with building highly efficient and effective companies. It was all about wokeness.

Richard White has returned to WiseTech’s board as executive chairman after half the board quit.

“It’s the reason I won’t sit on public boards, because it’s just too inefficient, the whole public board system. Generally speaking, the best people are staying away from public boards.” Mr Di Marco also criticised the independent directors of WiseTech who quit the company en masse last month, following a disagreement with founder Richard White, who has faced allegations that he exchanged business advice for sex.

Following the mass resignation, WiseTech’s market cap fell by more than $10bn off in a week.

“Now let’s put his (Mr White’s) personal life aside. You could have said, ‘Look, we have a disagreement with Richard, OK, and we’re working through that disagreement’.

“They should have stayed to the end of their term and then maybe not stood up for re-election and allowed the company to smoothly transition to a new business model, into a new operating model, and give time for the company to explain the operating model and shareholders not to be panicked.”

Louise Davidson is the CEO of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors. Picture Aaron Francis/The Australian

The superannuation industry is doubling down on its support for controversial diversity reporting guidelines for ASX-listed companies as debate about the future of such policies escalates in the wake of President Donald Trump’s rejection of DEI initiatives in the US.

ACSI chief executive Louise Davidson has said a lack of diversity on company boards represents a “financially material risk” for shareholders, and that’s why it is important for boards to keep investors informed.

But Mr Di Marco disagreed, saying it is hindering Australia’s global competitiveness and productivity, particularly as US tech behemoths like Google abandon their diversity and inclusion programs to comply with Mr Trump’s policies.

“The job has to go to the best candidate. You sure want to make sure that you support females and find the broadest pool of candidates, culturally and gender-wise and all that sort of stuff.

Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz. Picture: Richard Walker

“But in the end, when you come up with your short list, and you make your final decision, it has to go to the best candidate. You cannot discriminate. It’s just doesn’t make any sense to justify it. America is going to become very efficient, very effective. They’re going to put their country first, you know, and unless it’s in their interest, they’re not going to play ball, and that’s the new norm. We in Australia can … try to ignore it, but it’s not going to go away.”

But Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz – the leader of the nation’s most powerful female lobby group, Chief Executive Women – last week called on companies to take another look at gender in the face of a backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion. “We need to have a much more nuanced conversation around diversity, and refocus on why it is that bringing true diversity into our workplaces, our parliaments, and our public sector really matters,” she said.

“We have now seen decades of diversity initiatives, policies and targets,” she said. “And while so much progress has been made, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: gender equality will not succeed if it is treated as a movement for women alone.”

Originally published as The boards of Australia’s listed companies have become too woke, says tech doyen Di Marco