White could stay WiseTech kingpin despite resignation

Richard White’s resignation provides a much-needed circuit breaker for him, the company, its board and staff – but just how far in the background will he remain?

Richard White has chosen to step aside from the company he created.

Richard White’s planned speech to his staff at WiseTech’s headquarters in the inner city suburb of Alexandria on Thursday night was originally meant to be a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the company’s founding.

Instead, the embarrassing revelations about his personal life saw the 69-year-old White telling his staff that he was taking a break and would return in a new role as a consultant to the company.

It followed another torrid day on the stockmarket which saw WiseTech shares, which had been trading at just over $136 before the news of his unhappy former girlfriends emerged, fall below $100 for the first time in two months.

White’s announcement will provide a much-needed circuit breaker for White, the company, its board – led by corporate lawyer Richard Dammery – and staff, some of whom still managed to stick around for a few slices of cake yesterday afternoon after the news.

While he will leave the board, White will very much remain a force at the company he founded in 1994 with Maree Isaacs, staying on as a full time consultant for a good 10 years with an option to extend by another five- and still be paid the same $1m a year he was on as chief executive.

One could ask whether the deal White struck with the chairman is in fact a Clayton’s resignation which will still allow him full powers to run the company behind the scenes while avoiding the scrutiny of his personal life he would attract as a chief executive and company director.

At the very least, White will remain a powerful figure in the company for many years to come.

He clearly has a good relationship with his (interim) successor, chief financial officer Andrew Cartledge, who has been with the company for nine years.

Cartledge joined the company in 2015 after a 25 year career with GE, where he rose to be chief financial officer for GE Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

An arts graduate from the Manchester Metropolitan University, he had roles with GE in the US, in Minden, Nevada and Atlanta, Georgia, before moving to Australia in 2011.

In August, Cartledge signalled his intention to retire at the end of next year – making it a decade with WiseTech. But that could change following his promotion on Thursday to interim chief executive, with him saying he was prepared to review his retirement plans if needed and stay on beyond his planned 2025 departure date if needed.

The move will be welcomed by investors who have had a great ride on the back of White’s entrepreneurialism, drive and vision and only want it to continue.

While the announcement was issued after the close of trading on Thursday, analysts were quick to welcome the news.

RBC Capital Markets described the move as “positive” for the share price, which closed at $99.35 on Thursday, giving it a target price of $115.

“We view this as a positive development for WTC given the recent press coverage and potential governance breaches,” it said in a note issued after the announcement.

“We believe that the underlying growth drivers of the business remain intact and relieving White from his managerial responsibilities to focus on product development is a positive step forward in addressing governance issues without outright dismissal of WTCs visionary founder.”

Analyst Richard Coppleson with Bell Potter Securities, author of the iconic daily “Coppo report” also welcomed the news. “As a shareholder, I think it’s good he’s stepping down as most of the daily noise then dissipates, but very good that he will remain a consultant,” he said. “His knowledge and motivation will thus continue to drive the company to new heights. I think this will pass in the next month or two. I’m definitely not selling on this.”

Before the news, US investment research house Morningstar had issued its own report calculating that there was a 25 per cent chance of Richard White stepping down completely from his role, with the company pointing out his role as a key shareholder and driver of the company.

Originally published as White could stay WiseTech kingpin despite resignation