Chief executiveDarren Steinberg not lost for words at Dexus AGM

IN property circles the adage is to never get between Dexus chief executive Darren Steinberg and an audience. So it was quite surprising when we were told this week Steinberg, also president of the Property Council of Australia, would not be speaking at the company’s annual general meeting in Sydney yesterday because “it really is (chairman) Chris Beare’s day”.

It appears shareholders agreed. “You don’t get to hear from the CEO, (who) is here,” one German-accented shareholder said. “I’ve read a lot about him. I know what he looks like. The usual thing is to listen to him and hear what he says,” the shareholder continued, to raucous applause.

Beare replied: “Is there anything in particular you would like him to talk about?”

“No, I just want to congratulate him,” the investor added to laughter.

It took no less than 10 seconds for Steinberg to oblige, regaling the crowd with how well Dexus’s acquisition of Commonwealth Property Office Fund had gone.

Wimpy watchdog

WHEN ordinary Australians are told to “ensure” a course of events, that means they have to make sure it happens. Not so for the bosses of our banks and insurers, whom APRA boss Wayne Byres has given a special definition of the word that is far longer but means far less.

Under rules proposed by the regulator, “ensure, when used in relation to a responsibility of the board, means to take all reasonable steps and make all appropriate enquiries so that the board can determine, to the best of its knowledge, that the stated matter has been properly addressed”.

But even this was too strong for industry, which protested mightily. Showing the kind of steel it’s made of, APRA promptly folded and a few weeks ago inserted further weasel words. Now, the enquiries only have to be “reasonable” and “as are appropriate for a board” — whatever that means.

Turn up the volume

SOUTHERN Cross Media chairman Max “The Axe” Moore-Wilton appears to have changed his tune on disclosing the movements of on-air talent to the market after being challenged last week by Margin Call. At the time, Moore-Wilton seemed perfectly comfortable with the company’s decision not to bother telling the ASX last year that top-rating gruesome twosome “Vile” Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O had left the Austereo network.

But yesterday, Southern Cross told the market that unnamed “contractors” to the network will receive $3.114 million in shares over the next two years. Purely coincidentally, it also announced that Amish and Glandy — sorry, Hamish and Andy — will be taking the national Today FM drive slot from the middle of next year.

As young as you feel

STILL on matters media: Seven’s programming boss Angus Ross yesterday said the network had “reshaped our audience younger”. “In fact, we’re younger than ever,” he said. So why does OzTam data show the median age of the network’s viewers barely moved, inching from 49.5 years to 49.4?

Adolf’s admirer

DON’T mention Hitler. Gordon Cairns appeared at a breakfast in Sydney hosted by executive coaching outfit Stephenson Mansell yesterday, en route to delivering a lecture about mindfulness (whatever that is).

The former David Jones chairman said that one of the best ways to decide who to hire for an executive gig is to take them out to dinner and ask them what they believe in. One candidate told him Adolf Hitler was the greatest leader of the 20th century, going into great detail about the Fuhrer’s management skills.

He didn’t get the job.

Rhino not endangered

MELBOURNE strip club Spearmint Rhino appears to have been saved — if that’s the right word — from developers after fetching $7.725m at auction yesterday.

If word on sin strip King St can be trusted, the purchaser was clubland identity Peter Iwaniuk, who already owns the nudie bar next door, Centrefold Lounge.