Roger Corbett admits Woolies has lost some of its former glory

Returning executive Roger Corbett says Woolworths has “lost” some of what he has to bring back to the company.

Former Woolworths CEO Roger Corbett. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Returning Woolworths executive Roger Corbett said Woolworths had “lost” some of what he had to bring back to the table.

The former retail boss said he was approached by the company to work as an adviser to the ailing retailer, rather than lobbying for the role. He has already visited several stores with Woolworths supermarkets boss Brad Banducci.

Mr Corbett, who left as CEO in September 2006, is believed to be being paid $700,000 a year for the one-day-a-week role to help restore the retailer’s fortunes.

Speaking informally to shareholders after the Mayne Pharma annual meeting in Melbourne, which Mr Corbett chairs, the former Woolies boss revealed he “was a bit embarrassed” by his reappointment to the company.

In contrast to life at Woolies, Mayne Pharma, whose shareholders also include pub magnate Bruce Mathieson with a $75 million stake, has this week seen its market value shoot through $1 billion.

“Our major objective is to build an Australian company that has unique advantage in the world and we are doing that,” Mr Corbett, 73, said of the drugmaker.

“Well, a billion dollars, it’s on the way to two or three billion,” he predicted.

Mr Corbett, who next week steps down from the Reserve Bank board after 10 years in the role, praised the political shake-up in Canberra.

“I think that Malcolm Turnbull is doing extremely well in the role. He looks like a Prime Minister, he sounds like a Prime Minister and he is giving some real leadership,” Mr Corbett told The Australian.

“The trip he has just had around the world facing really acute issues in the world, I think Australia can be rightly proud of the representation he has given Australia.”

Mr Corbett said Mayne Pharma was a model for the sort of innovation that was key to economic growth.

“Mayne Parma is a company that is worth over $1bn. Five years or so ago it was $10m and the opportunities for Australia is to take its intellectual property and leverage that … against manufacturing capacity and build ourselves some kind of value-added export trade,” he said. “Australia needs to export, clearly commodities are coming down and having emphasis on research and intellectual property that is leveraged against manufacturing facilities is the way to go.

“If we are going to live at a superior level to the rest of the world then we can only afford to do that if our intellectual property allows us to get added value.”

Mayne Pharma shares ended 2.4 per cent higher at $1.26.