WiseTech lifts interim boss Andrew Cartledge’s salary to $1.7m amid search for new CEO
Temporary CEO Andrew Cartledge now earns a base salary that’s $200,000 more per year than Richard White did in the top role at WiseTech, as a search for a replacement drags on.
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WiseTech’s interim chief executive Andrew Cartledge now earns a base salary that’s $200,000 more per year than Richard White did in the same role.
The logistics software giant on Thursday announced it had lifted the salary of Mr Cartledge to $1.7m per year, including a $1.2m base salary and an equity grant of $500,000.
The bump arrives as WiseTech has spent several months in search of a new CEO to replace founder Mr White, who abruptly stood down from the company in October last year amid a raft of sensational allegations about his personal life.
That was only a temporary arrangement; Mr White is now WiseTech’s executive chairman.
Under the agreement, Mr Cartledge is also entitled to a “performance equity incentive” of $1.36m which could be lifted a further 50 per cent for “exceptional achievement”.
Mr Cartledge had earned a total of $1.51m in FY24 – including $760,000 in fixed cash remuneration and $751,556 in performance equity and remuneration equity – while Mr White had earned a flat $1m. The interim chief executive’s fixed cashed remuneration is now 20 per cent more than Mr White’s was, having grown by $440,000 as WiseTech continues its search for a replacement chief executive and more board directors.
On Thursday, WiseTech told shareholders that Mr Cartledge was willing to stay on beyond his initial retirement plans at the end of this year.
“Mr Cartledge has reconfirmed the commitment he made to the board in October last year that he is available, if required, to stay on beyond his planned retirement at the end of calendar 2025 as needed by the Company to ensure a seamless and orderly transition to a permanent CEO,” WiseTech said.
The agreement arrived just days after former chairman Andrew Harrison was reappointed to the board and elevated to lead independent director over WiseTech 16-year board veteran Mike Gregg, a move which showed the company was struggling to put sufficient space between today’s leadership and its former lieutenants, according to one expert.
The move raised eyebrows from a number of corporate governance experts and the Australian Shareholders Association, which said it appeared WiseTech had “a revolving door of directors”.
The company also appointed UPS vice-president Chris Charlton to its board. He joins the WiseTech board after a 26-year career including roles in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
WiseTech’s appointments arrive as one of its former directors revealed she was told she would never work again after levelling bullying accusations against Mr White.
Christine Holman, who quit the WiseTech board in 2019 after raising concerns about Mr White’s behaviour, said she had been told by a headhunter she “scared chairs”.
“I’ve been told so many times that my chances of getting another board in this country is virtually zero, which is fine, because I didn’t do this for money, it’s not a retirement plan and if I don’t get another board again, that’s fine,” she told a panel discussion at the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors conference in Melbourne.
Mr White’s behaviour is the subject of an ongoing board-commissioned review which found the billionaire misled the board about his personal relationship with an employee.
At the same conference, the corporate regulator took aim at chief executives whose private lives had become a professional liability.
ASIC chair Joe Longo said there appeared to be an “outbreak” with bedroom issues finding their way into the boardroom.
“There does appear to be an outbreak of issues in the bedroom migrating to the boardroom and that’s a bit unfortunate for confidence in our governance arrangements. What happens in people’s personal lives is a matter for them,” Mr Longo said.
ASIC confirmed it was concerned as to whether “alleged misbehaviour” was impacting “good governance in the boardroom” and had become a distraction.
“And if that’s the case, then that might be something we’d be interested in,” Mr Longo said.
“What I’ve learned over the years is that not every unattractive governance incident in a boardroom of a major company is a breach of the Corporations Act. It might be unattractive, it might be poor behaviour, it might be poor governance. It’s not something that you’d always go off to a court to deal with. To think about it that way is too narrow.
“The regulator has a role to play, and the courts have a role to play. My overall proposition is if poor behaviour can lead to material breaches of one’s directors duties. Whether they’re actionable all the time, is another matter,” he said.
WiseTech’s governance issues have cost it the backing of major investors, with AustralianSuper — once the company’s fourth-biggest shareholder — revealing it had sold down its $580m stake, citing governance concerns.
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Originally published as WiseTech lifts interim boss Andrew Cartledge’s salary to $1.7m amid search for new CEO
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