Corporate hotshots gather at the Australian Open tennis finals
Let’s call it the first — and ultimate — status update of the corporate season. School assembly for the CEOs. The great gathering of big-shots and silverbacks.
What better barometer of social hierarchy than the seating arrangements at the Australian Open finals, humorously inexact as they are in capturing the changemakers.
Ironic, as well, that a ball flying hither and yon is what summons all these colourful folk for unwanted assessment via telephoto lens. They may have nothing in common but at Rod Laver Arena they all speak the language of tennis, the Esperanto of influence.
Thus we bore witness to has-been celebrities like American singer Ke$ha (now Kesha) and Kung Fu chopping Jackie Chan, both of whom turned up for the women’s final between Aryna Sabalenka and American Madison Keys on Saturday night, the latter quick drawing from the baseline to end the Belarussian’s championship reign in three sets: 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
Chan was back on Sunday night for the men’s final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev, their match threatening to go well into the evening, a boon for Melbourne’s late-night hospitality trade and broadcaster Nine, its CEO Matt Stanton spotted courtside with the evening’ ratings surely on his brain. For once no one cared about a late finish anyway – after all, Monday’s a public holiday.
There with Chan in the same bay was former Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe sharing space with Medibank CEO David Koczkar and Andrew Glance, CEO of Qantas’ loyalty program. Arguably the best seats in the house were captured by Linfox founder Lindsay Fox, Mushroom Records CEO Matt Gudinski and the likes of Liam Hemsworth, tennis greats Ken Rosewall and Margaret Court, which you’d expect, and Boral CEO Ryan Stokes, seated with his wife Claire and ANZ chair Paul O’Sullivan, just in front of the bank’s CEO, Shayne Elliott, who we think we saw leaving early.
Honourable mentions go to MasterCard division president Richard Wormald and Rolex CEO Jean Frederic Dufour, plus John Gandel and Airtrunk billionaire Robin Khuda (a guest of the watchmaker).
There was Tourism Australia chair Penny Fowler in the Emirates seats with South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas and his wife Annabel (seated alongside Emirates president Sir Tim Clarke).
And there, too, was Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson, Ricky Ponting and wife Rianna. Actor Geoffrey Rush wasn’t far afield. Neither was BHP chair Ken Mackenzie, and funny, too, that he was seated in a better seat and at a distance from his CEO, Mike Henry. Something up with that? Everything good? Both are likely to retire from the miner this year.
Tennis Australia president Jayne Hrdlicka clearly enjoyed herself on Saturday night, appearing resplendent in a leopard-skin jumpsuit and 4kg of bling dangling from each of her earlobes. On Sunday the bling was back, only this time she was spotted next to deputy prime minister Richard Marles and presumably he, too, was wondering when she’ll actually step down as Virgin Australia’s CEO. It’s only been a year since she announced her retirement from the airline. Must we really quote Queen Elsa? Jayne, please, let it gooooo …
Actually, Hrdlicka hosted a knees up on Saturday night that included new Australia Post board member (and former Queensland premier) Annastacia Palaszczuk. She was seen chit-chatting with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen (later booed during the women’s presentation ceremony). Also in attendance was Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece, former premiers John Brumby and Steve Bracks, corporate supremo Sir Rod Eddington, strategist Andrew Butcher and his former business partner James Chessell (now quite handily the editor-in-chief of the Fin Review).
Speaking of Australia Post, its former CEO Ahmed Fahour managed to talk his way inside of that tightly-managed function, having failed to achieve the same with the AFL’s Olympic Room grand final luncheon for the past three years. No shame in trying!
Courtside again. Spotted with a pair of lorgnettes (and the mega-zoom of an iPhone 16 ultra-wide camera) was AFL chair Richard Goyder and his CEO Andrew Dillon, Meriton founder Harry Triguboff and mining success-story Tolga Kumova, gregarious as always judging by what our spies could hear. Star CEO Steve McCann looked pensive, but who could blame him given the financial health of his casinos? Nine’s chair Catherine West had a spot with actor Rachel Griffiths and Suncorp chair Christine McLoughlin. And cricketer Brett Lee was inside somewhere, too, but he was more easily spotted drinking bubbles in the Piper-Heidsieck marquee.
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