Cleanaway CEO Vik Bansal penalised for ‘overly-assertive’ behaviour

Cleanaway has discovered instances of alleged bullying by CEO Vik Bansal, who has conceded improper behaviour with staff.

Cleanaway CEO Vik Bansal has been sanctioned by the company’s board over behavioural issues. Picture: Waste Management Review

The board of Cleanaway Waste Management has discovered instances of alleged bullying by chief executive Vik Bansal, who has conceded his improper behaviour when interacting with staff, but the CEO, who has won over investors, has escaped without any financial penalty or impact to his career.

However, just as Cleanaway announced the findings about its CEO, who under his leadership has seen its shares rise 300 per cent in the last five years, the waste management group said its chief financial officer would resign.

The moves, which were delivered minutes after one another in separate statements, triggered as much as a 14 per cent slump in Cleanaway shares. The company closed down 18 cents, or 7.14per cent, at $2.34.

A spokesman for the company told The Australian the revelations about Mr Bansal and the planned retirement of chief financial officer Brendan Gill at the beginning of 2021 were not linked, rather it was just a coincidence of timing.

Mr Gill will be replaced as chief financial officer by outgoing Nufarm finance chief Paul Binfield who will officially join Cleanaway from February.

Meanwhile, at a time when some of the nation’s most powerful chief executives and managers at companies such as AMP and QBE have walked or been sacked because of breaches of codes of conduct, Mr Bansal will only have to put up with what the board has termed “executive leadership mentoring, enhanced reporting, and monitoring of the CEO’s conduct.”

Last year the $160 billion Future Fund voted in favour of a number of bonuses awarded to Mr Bansal who was last year paid $2.6m. Recently Mr Bansal sold three-quarters of his Cleanaway shares for $10 million, with no explanation given for the share sale.

In a statement to the ASX on Monday the $5.2bn Cleanaway said it was responding to claims of poor workplace behaviour within the company.

“The board of Cleanaway takes allegations of misconduct in the workplace very seriously.”

Mr Bansal’s behaviour was described as “overly-assertive”.

“Mr Bansal had some issues with overly-assertive behaviour in the workplace and has acknowledged that he needed to address them,’’ said Cleanaway chairman Mark Chellew.

“The board is disappointed in the circumstances but has taken appropriate action. We have noted the committed and sincere manner in which Mr Bansal has responded. The board will not tolerate any further instances of unacceptable conduct.”

It said the board had been working closely with its Mr Bansal to ensure that his workplace conduct meets their expectations.

“After the board was advised of claims made about workplace behaviours involving Mr Bansal … a thorough independent investigation was conducted into the issues raised.

“Following this investigation, the board implemented a range of measures including executive leadership mentoring, enhanced reporting, and monitoring of the CEO’s conduct.

“Mr Bansal has acknowledged that his behaviour should have been better and expressed contrition. He has discussed this openly with the board and with his colleagues and has embraced changes in his approach.”

A spokesman for Cleanaway declined to detail the allegations of bullying levelled at Mr Bansal or who the victims were. The waste management company has suffered a string of executive departures over the last few years following Mr Bansal’s appointment as CEO in 2015.

Before joining Cleanaway in 2015, Mr Bansal worked with US-based heavy industry manufacturer Valmont Industries. He was also a senior executive at Australian steelmaker Arrium.

In a statement Mr Bansal said: “I accept the feedback and remain totally committed to creating a progressive culture at Cleanaway while executing on our strategy and delivering ongoing financial performance.”

In a separate statement on the planned departure of its chief financial officer, the company said the outgoing Mr Gill had contributed significantly to the transformation of Cleanaway as Australia’s leading integrated waste management company since his initial appointment in 2014.

“He is leaving the company’s balance sheet in a very healthy state and ready for our next phase of growth. His focus on getting the company through the legacy landfill remediation issue will be accretive to our cash flows in years to come.”

Mr Bansal said while he was disappointed that Mr Gill had made the decision to retire, he was also excited Mr Binfield would be joining.

“I look forward to his leadership and contribution as we embark on phase two of our Footprint 2025 strategy. Brendan has been fundamental in helping Cleanaway achieve the growth we have seen over the last five years. I thank him for his extensive contribution and friendship, and wish him and his family my very sincere best wishes in retirement.”