WiseTech’s CEO has resigned. Now for the reckoning

Tech billionaire Richard White’s resignation will likely do little to arrest his company’s plummeting share price, and the wider technology sector now has serious questions to answer about how it allowed his alleged behavioural problems to fester.

White stepped down as CEO of WiseTech Global late on Thursday following a string of reporting by this masthead into allegations of inappropriate behaviour. The Age, The Herald and the Australian Financial Review revealed that White, one of Australia’s wealthiest men, gave, or allegedly promised to give, two multimillion-dollar houses to women with whom he had a sexual relationship.

Richard White has stepped down as chief executive of the company he founded. Credit: Bloomberg

A third property, for another woman, came to light during a separate Federal Court brawl that ended in a settlement earlier this week.

The billions in lost value, carved off the fortunes of both WiseTech Global and its long-time leader, all stem from a dispute between former lovers over $90,000 worth of furniture.

White said late on Thursday that he would resign effective immediately and transition to a new role.

White’s resignation was all but inevitable, and his position was untenable given the mounting allegations of misconduct. But Morningstar equity analyst Roy Van Keulen believes the departure can further cripple WiseTech’s share price, given how integral White’s specialist knowledge has been to the company.

White had humble beginnings as an AC/DC guitar tech and member of a small-time glam rock band, but grew into one of the most powerful individuals in Australian tech.

“We estimate that the replacement of White as CEO would lower the value of WiseTech shares by around 20 per cent to $90 per share,” Van Keulen wrote on Thursday. The share price had already slid to less than $100 before White’s resignation was announced, having started the week at $122.

“We think WiseTech has been managed exceptionally well by its founder and CEO, Richard White. WiseTech has secured a dominant position in international freight-forwarding software, which is an inherently globally competitive market. We attribute this success to a rare combination of planning and execution.”

And White’s behaviour has roiled not just WiseTech but the broader technology sector. White was a board member of the Technology Council of Australia (TCA), a high-profile lobby group, which on Thursday announced that he would leave the board. He is also a philanthropist, donating regularly to coding education programs and “diversity in tech” initiatives.

And there are questions now about how much power White will still wield at the company he founded 30 years ago.

He will take on a “full-time, long-term consulting role, focused on product and business development”, with a title of “founder and founding CEO”. White’s new role could arguably be more influential than that of the CEO, who usually has to report directly to the board. As WiseTech’s largest shareholder, the board will now effectively report to him.

The unwinding of White’s influence will take longer than his resignation, and the broader sector has yet to reckon with how the alleged misbehaviour of him, and others in the industry, have continued for so long.

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