Two business women leap to Richard White’s defence after he quits as chief of TechWise

Two women have come forward and defended the Aussie billionaire who stepped down as chief of WiseTech following allegations he demanded sex for investments.

EXCLUSIVE

Business women have come forward for the first time in the defence of Richard White, the billionaire who sensationally quit last week as chief of his $33 billion tech giant WiseTech.

The women chose to speak out after Mr White announced in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange he was stepping down, claiming he had bullied them or demanded sex for investments.

WiseTech’s share price has plunged 25 per cent in recent weeks as beauty entrepreneur Linda Rogan alleged in civil proceedings that she was expected to have sex with Mr White in exchange for his investment in her wellness company.

Richard White quit this week as chief of his $33 billion tech giant WiseTech. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The allegation has since been withdrawn, but not before another woman, Jenna Riches, accused Mr White of offering business advice in return for sex.

These claims are at odds with the experiences of business register Kyckr’s CEO Kathy Phelan and pathogen detection company Genics’ founder Melony Sellars.

“I’ve never seen any of this,” Ms Phelan said. She said she has known Mr White for 15 years and that her daughters have also worked with him.

Kyckr is wholly owned by Mr White; its executive team is mainly female.

Ms Phelan said: “We never ever saw anything like what’s been described.”

She said she had spent Christmas holidays with Mr White and attended functions where there was “lots of alcohol” yet there “had never even bit a hint” of anything inappropriate.

Like Ms Phelan, Dr Sellars said Mr White had never made a sexual advance towards her.

Both said they did not know of anyone that had happened to.

Dr Sellars said: “My dealings with Richard have always been nothing but business focused.”

Dr Sellars said she had known Mr White for more than three years.

He bought a 10 per cent stake in Genics and is involved in its strategy development.

“In all my interactions with Richard, I’ve found him to be consistently respectful to everyone he deals with,” she said.

Kyckr CEO Kathy Phelan says she was surprised by the allegations against Mr White.

Melony Sellars says her dealings with Mr White have only ever been business focused. Picture: Supplied

Beauty entrepreneur Ms Rogan’s claims emerged in civil proceedings that began when Mr White issued his former lover with a bankruptcy notice over $90,000 worth of furniture she purchased for a $13 million Sydney mansion he had bought for her.

She has withdrawn her accusations and the case has been settled.

Reports have also revealed Mr White bought multimillion-dollar homes for two business women he was sexually involved with, Marcia Kensell and Christine Kontos.

After Mr White disclosed his intimate relationship with Ms Kontos to WiseTech, the company recruited her as a product manager.

He has denied the relationship led to her being hired and the company has said the appointment was validated by the board.

Before Mr White stood down, WiseTech was formally investigating the allegations against him to determine whether its code of conduct has been breached.

Mr White is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing and he declined to comment.

WiseTech’s share price fell below $100 on Thursday, before Mr White’s ASX announcement. It was trading above $133 three weeks ago.

The plunge has reduced the company’s market worth by about $12 billion.

Mr White owns about a third of the logistics software giant’s stock, meaning his personal wealth has taken a $4bn hit.

The women chose to speak out in response to the crisis engulfing one of Australia’s richest men, which was triggered by beauty entrepreneur Linda Rogan’s accusations in civil proceedings that she was expected to have sex with the WiseTech chief in exchange for his investment in her wellness company.

Linda Rogan claimed she was expected to have sex with Mr White in exchange for his investment in her wellness company. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

The allegation has since been withdrawn, but not before another woman, Jenna Riches, accused Mr White of offering business advice in return for sex. These claims are at odds with the experiences of business register Kyckr’s CEO Kathy Phelan and pathogen detection company Genics’ founder Melony Sellars.

“I’ve never seen any of this,” Ms Phelan told this masthead. She said she has known Mr White for 15 years and that her daughters have also worked with him.

Kyckr is wholly owned by Mr White; its executive team is mainly female.

Ms Phelan said: “We never ever saw anything like what’s been described.”

She said she had spent Christmas holidays with Mr White and attended functions where there was “lots of alcohol” yet there “had never even bit a hint” of anything inappropriate.

Like Ms Phelan, Dr Sellars said Mr White had never made a sexual advance towards her.

Both said they did not know of anyone that had happened to.

Dr Sellars said: “My dealings with Richard have always been nothing but business focused.”

Dr Sellars said she had known Mr White for more than three years.

He bought a 10 per cent stake in Genics and is involved in its strategy development.

“In all my interactions with Richard, I’ve found him to be consistently respectful to everyone he deals with,” she said.

Ms Rogan’s claims emerged in civil proceedings that began when Mr White issued his former lover with a bankruptcy notice.

Beauty entrepreneur Ms Rogan’s claims emerged in civil proceedings that began when Mr White issued his former lover with a bankruptcy notice over $90,000 worth of furniture she purchased for a $13 million Sydney mansion he had bought for her.

She has withdrawn her accusations and the case has been settled.

Reports have also revealed Mr White bought multimillion-dollar homes for two business women he was sexually involved with, Marcia Kensell and Christine Kontos.

After Mr White disclosed his intimate relationship with Ms Kontos to WiseTech, the company recruited her as a product manager.

He has denied the relationship led to her being hired and the company has said the appointment was validated by the board.

WiseTech is formally investigating the allegations against Mr White to determine whether its code of conduct has been breached.

Mr White is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing and he declined to comment.

The scandal has carved about 25 per cent off WiseTech’s share price, reducing the company’s market worth by about $12 billion.

Mr White owns about a third of the logistics software giant’s stock, meaning his personal wealth has taken a $4bn hit.

Originally published as Two business women leap to Richard White’s defence after he quits as chief of TechWise