Loss of trust in corporates ‘partly self-inflicted’: Lindsay Maxsted

Lindsay Maxsted says boards must do more to explain the contribution of big business to communities and the economy.

Transurban chairman Lindsay Maxsted. Picture: Hollie Adams.

One of the nation’s most influential company directors, Lindsay Maxsted, concedes that some of the loss of trust between the public and corporate Australia is self-inflicted and says boards must do more to explain the contribution of big business to communities and the economy.

The Transurban chairman, who announced plans yesterday to step down in the next few years, is one of the country’s most well-connected board figures as a ­director of global miner BHP and chairman of Westpac, which is under intense scrutiny as part of the banking royal commission.

“Part of that loss — depending on the company and the sector — is self-inflicted and part of that is a diversion away from other topics that want to put blame on to the corporate sector for certain ­issues,” Mr Maxsted told The Australian. “Part of our job as boards and corporates — it always has been but is probably more elevated now — is to keep explaining those company messages and hope over time they resonate.”

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

Transurban now runs seven of NSW’s nine toll-road concessions and 15 of 19 toll-road concessions in Australia, but it noted the competition regulator had cleared it of any monopoly concerns as part of its study of the WestConnex bid.

“We think that for many good reasons that we are a long, long way from being a monopoly,” Mr Maxsted said. “I can see why conceptually if you are the major ­operator and owner of an infrastructure-type asset all around the country and no one else is, people think that’s a monopoly. But then you’ve got to get behind that and understand how it gets awarded and how pricing works on a concession.”

The Transurban chairman first outlined his potential exit from the board in 2016, when he said he might not serve his full three-year term.

That was widely interpreted as a pre-emptive move to potentially free himself up to replace Jac Nasser as BHP chairman, but he lost that battle last year to Ken Mac­Kenzie when he took the chairman reins.

Mr Maxsted said yesterday the time was approaching for him to make way for his successor at Transurban.

Two other Transurban directors, departing Seek chairman Neil Chatfield and former ANZ deputy CEO Bob Edgar, will also leave in the next few years.

“It’s likely I will stand for ­re-election next year and then in ­October 2020 or October 2021 we can judge what is right for the company in terms of a succession plan,” Mr Maxsted said.

Mr Chatfield, a director of Transurban since 2009, was last week named chairman of poker ­machine maker Aristocrat Leisure. 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, is a former ANZ banker and holds director roles at Djerriwarrh Investments and Linfox Armaguard.

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

Mr Charlton noted yesterday that the company had reshaped its executive committee in the past year, with three of the four positions filled internally, showing the depth of its senior management talent.

Mr Maxsted said that while the board regularly discussed the chief executive’s tenure, there were no plans for the Transurban boss to leave in the short-term.