Big interest in Fletcher Building board chair gig

Fletcher Building shareholders are eager to get an update on who will replace Bruce Hassall as its next chairman.

Investors in Fletcher Building are eager to get an update on who will replace Bruce Hassall as its next chairman.

And while there’s no official announcement out from the Australian and New Zealand building materials provider behind brands such as Laminex and Pink Batts, there’s been plenty of unofficial updates in the back channels.

One suggestion in the market is that a former National Australia Bank chief executive could be in line for the chairman role.

Mr McEwan retired as the NAB boss this year so he would be available.

The question is, would he want the job if he has in fact been approached?

After all, he’s currently on the board of BHP and is likely being courted for boardroom positions for other Australian blue chip stocks, and the Fletcher Building market value is only about $3bn.

Still, in many ways, he would be considered a natural choice for Fletcher Building’s headhunters to target.

He’s a Kiwi, which is considered important for the job, with Fletcher Building being one of New Zealand’s biggest companies with a close working relationship with the government.

He’s a highly regarded and respected businessman with global banking experience.

Perhaps like many other high-profile businessmen who have made it offshore he is keen to retreat back to his homeland to contribute, namely ex-Air New Zealand boss Chris Luxon, who is now the NZ Prime Minister, former Walmart and Woolworths executive Greg Foran, who runs Air New Zealand, and ex-CBA boss Sir Ralph Norris, who in fact used to be the Fletcher Building chair.

But despite the best efforts of Sir Ralph Norris, he was unable to drive the sort of change needed for the company’s share price to re-rate and performance to improve while he was chairman through to 2018.

Mr Hassall is a former NZ head of PwC, and there’s been a call for more industry experience on the board.

Yet the general view around the market is netting Mr McEwan to head the board would be a coup for the Kiwi building company that has suffered losses, project write downs, profit downgrades and has been criticised for having too many business units and a lack of focus.

The understanding is that Fletcher Building has pulled out of its presentation at the Macquarie Australia Conference in Sydney next month, where a large selection of Australian corporates use the event as an opportunity to get in front of investors and sell their story.

But with no chairman, permanent chief executive or chief financial officer, it’s no surprise.

Former chief executive Ross Taylor and chairman Bruce Hassall were originally to stay on for several months to oversee the transition to new leadership.

But both have now gone, with chief financial officer Bevan McKenzie leaving after Nick Traber was appointed the acting chief executive.

Until news emerges about who will be running Fletchers and its board, it will be some time before shareholders get any clarity about a break-up of the company, an exit out of Australia or a sale of its property development unit, as some think could be on the cards in the future.