Christine Holgate joins parcel business Global Express as CEO

Former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate has landed role at business delivery company that competes with Australia Post.

Former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate in Sydney on Monday … she has been given the job at rival delivery business Toll Global Express. Picture: John Feder

Christine Holgate has taken on her former employer Australia Post in the court of ­public opinion, and now she will also be competing with its most profitable arm in her new role as chief executive of rival delivery company Toll Global Express.

Ms Holgate, whose controversial resignation from Australia Post was the subject of a high-profile Senate inquiry that is still to go to mediation, has labelled the move as her next “chapter”, rather than the perfect revenge.

At Toll Global Express she will be overseeing a freight and logistics operation spanning Australia and New Zealand that will be the direct rival of Australia Post’s delivery service in the rapid growth markets of parcel fulfilment and e-commerce.

“We will be in competition, but competition does make you stronger,” Ms Holgate said.

“Hopefully it’s an opportunity for all of us to get stronger, and hopefully the real people who win out of this are our customers, ­because when they grow and they succeed it’s going to be better for the whole industry.”

Toll Global Express, which generates more than $3bn in annual revenue and employs more than 8000 people, was acquired by Allegro Funds in December last year, which has promised $500m to bolster the company’s growth.

Ms Holgate turned the tide of public opinion in her favour last month after she fronted a ­Senate inquiry and attacked Scott Morrison and Australia Post over the “bullying” and “humiliation” she endured after she was forced out over a $20,000 purchase of Cartier watches for senior staff.

Six months after her traumatic exit, Ms Holgate said on Monday she could finally see some silver lining to the ordeal, which she has been open about as having pushed her mental health to the edge.

“It was really very difficult,” she said. “But once I went to the Senate, and when I gave my submission, a lot of people read it who I didn’t imagine would read it, and when I gave evidence one of the beautiful things that happened after that was just this mass of community support and letters from all these people writing to me and telling me their story.

“Sometimes it’s been a bit overwhelming but it has been pretty amazing. I wish I had known all of that months earlier, it would have been massively reassuring.

“It hasn’t all been negative. I have learnt a lot from it.”

Ms Holgate, who will take her former employer to mediation demanding an apology, said despite it all she hadn’t ruled out working for the government again, and maintained that she was still open to any outreach from the Prime Minister or Australia Post.

“I hope what happened to me sets a precedent for change and it doesn’t happen to anybody else,” she said.

“And if I thought that speaking out would mean it would happen again, I wouldn’t have spoken out. So I spoke out because I wanted that behaviour to stop.”

On her new role, she said: “I want to grow things, I love working with people, I love trade, I love e-commerce. I think it’s a fantastic job for me. It’s a national infrastructure job, it’s got loads of challenges but masses of opportunity. I think it’s harder to do that in a government environment.

“I think for me it’s the right job for now. Never say never, but this is what I want to do right now.”

Ms Holgate’s departure from Australia Post has left franchise owners furious, including Licensed Post Office Group executive director Angela Cramp.

“It is a terribly sad day for Australia Post that (it) has lost its ­potential future in Christine Holgate,” she said.

“People always say Australia Post is a public service, but it isn’t and those idiots have allowed the best thing to walk in the door to go and work for the competition.”