The Australian’s Australian of the Year: Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci shows calm crisis leadership

Nearly 30 years of high-level retail experience helped Woolies boss to stay calm as the Covid crisis unfolded.

Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci at their Sydney offices with a delivery truck for the retailer's full year results. Picture: John Feder

It was March 1 last year, and Australia was on edge. Earlier that day, the country recorded its first COVID-19 death and anxious Australians had begun heading to supermarkets in droves to stock up on essentials.

The next day, the first two cases of community transmission were recorded. The day after that, a 95-year-old woman died in a Sydney aged-care home. Then all hell broke loose.

News and social media were flooded with pictures of mobs descending on supermarkets and panic-buying supplies. A man in Tamworth was tasered after he assaulted a staff member over the most valuable of commodities, toilet paper.

Shelves were emptied. Elderly and disabled Australians were complaining they couldn’t find necessities anywhere. Scott Morrison declared the panic buying “one of the most disappointing things I have seen”.

Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci knew he had to act — and he acted fast, making use of his nearly 30 years of high-level retail experience.

By mid-March, an emergency and crisis management team had been established within Woolworths. Warehouses were running 24 hours a day, grocery delivery was prioritised for those who needed it most and stores were opened for a few hours every morning for elderly, disabled and essential workers.

Social distancing and hygiene measures were rolled out and workers stood down in other sectors, like airlines, were redeployed as staff in supermarkets and distribution centres as the group looked to hire up to 20,000 extra people.

For his dedication to ensuring every Australian could access the goods they need through a difficult period, Mr Banducci has been nominated for The Australian’s Australian of the Year 2020.

App users tap here to nominate your Australian of the Year

The measures were disruptive but through it all, Mr Banducci made sure his customers were on side, regularly communicating through social media channels and direct emails.

“During the initial demand surge in March, we were working hard to keep our customers updated on the stock situation,” he told The Australian in December.

“ I think we learnt a lot about the importance of speaking directly and authentically with our customers, and I want to carry that forward.

“Authenticity is key in the social media world we live in.”

On top of the professional pressure of keeping the nation's pantries well-stocked through a pandemic, Mr Banducci was touched personally by COVID: in August, one of his daughters, a Victorian healthcare worker, contracted the virus.

Despite the enormous responsibility on his shoulders throughout 2020, Mr Banducci has managed to come out of the year with a new appreciation for his company. “This has been a profoundly challenging year for us all, but … it has brought out the very best in Woolworths,” he said.

“It has shown what we can do when we move with focus and agility and empower teams to make decisions.”

We encourage our readers to put in a nomination for The Australian’s Australian of the Year, which was first won in 1971 by economist HC “Nugget” Coombs. Prominent Australians can be nominated by filling out the coupon above, or sending an email to [e-mail]. Nominations close on Thursday, January 21.