Lindsay Maxsted flags plan to exit Transurban board, will time move with other departing directors

Transurban chair Lindsay Maxsted has flagged his departure, along with two others, from the toll road giant’s board.

Transurban Chairman Lindsay Maxsted.

One of Australia’s most high profile business figures, Lindsay Maxsted, has flagged his decision to step down from the board of Transurban as part of a shake-up at the toll road giant which will also see outgoing Seek chairman Neil Chatfield and ex-ANZ banker Bob Edgar depart as directors.

Mr Maxsted, chairman of Westpac and a director of BHP, joined the board in March 2008 and was appointed chairman in August 2010 with his fellow directors Mr Chatfield and Mr Edgar also appointed about a decade ago.

“Bob Edgar, Neil Chatfield and I will, most likely, all retire from the board over the next few years given that we joined in the 2008-2009 time frame and given the board’s policy on director tenure,” Mr Maxsted told the company’s (TCL) annual general meeting in Melbourne today. “The exact timing of these departures is yet to be determined but they will be staggered to ensure board stability, appropriate retention of corporate memory and orderly chairman succession.”

Mr Maxsted previously told shareholders at its 2016 AGM he may not serve his full three-year term as chairman where he noted succession had been an item on Transurban’s board agenda for some time and last year said it was developing an orderly succession plan for its board.

The boardroom doyen was reported to be in the running to replace former BHP chairman Jac Nasser last year with the role instead going to Ken MacKenzie.

There’s also been speculation in the market over the tenure of chief executive Scott Charlton who took on the top role at the transport company in 2012.

Mr Charlton noted today the company has reshaped its executive committee in the last year with three of the four positions filled internally showing the depth of its senior management talent.

Mr Chatfield, a director of Transurban since 2009, was named chairman of poker machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure last week. He is stepping down as Seek chairman in December and previously served as chair of Virgin Australia.

Mr Edgar, also a Transurban director since 2009, was a former ANZ banker and holds director roles at Djerriwarrh Investments and Linfox Armaguard.

Transurban, which bought a majority stake in Sydney’s WestConnex motorway in August, also rejected criticism that it holds a monopoly grip over Australia’s toll road market and said its concessions have been acquired through competitive processes or project development proposals.

Transurban currently runs seven of NSW’s nine toll-road concessions and 15 of 19 toll-road concessions in Australia.

It noted the competition regulator had cleared it of any monopoly concerns as part of its study of the WestConnex bid.

“ACCC chairman Rod Sims stated that many of the advantages that competitors view Transurban as having, from a competition standpoint, are more perception than reality,” said Mr Maxsted.