Musical chairs at GoCatch

Illustration: Rod Clement.

It seems there is no end to the turmoil that has prevailed at the holding company of the Turnbull, Packer and Bassat-backed ride share app GoCatch, as views diverge on how the tech business should move forward.

Four directors of parent company Taxi Apps Pty Ltd, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Singapore-based son Alex Turnbull, veteran investment banker Bill Beerworth, GoCatch chief executive of only 10 months David Holmes and Airtasker founder Tim Fung, have all pulled the plug on the board amid disagreement on the future of the James Packer and Paul Bassat-backed group.

Alex Turnbull. Picture: Hollie Adams

Andrew Campbell.

Last week GoCatch co-founder Andrew Campbell, who has 22 per cent of the group, installed two of his representatives on the board. Rolland Ross lawyer Sunil Patel and broker Christopher Pedersen are now the only directors of the company.

It is understood the cash-hungry company needs to raise fresh capital this year. That’s on top of money raised last year.

Campbell founded the group about five years ago with Ned Moorfield, who also left the board in May last year.

It is understood that Campbell has plans to take GoCatch public via a float, but doesn’t yet want professional-style directors who might cramp his style.

The boardroom controversy is in contrast to early heady days for the group, which launched in this market ahead of Uber.

PM Turnbull often spruiked the GoCatch app — which, full disclosure, one half of this column uses all the time — via his social media accounts. His son Alex still holds stock in the company, which would be diluted in any fresh equity raising if the young banker declines to take up any offer.

Other high-profile backers include the Millner, Kahlbetzer and Liberman families and fund manager David Paradice.

Our attempts to contact GoCatch for comment went unanswered.

Forum phantom

The corporate ghost of former Murray Goulburn boss Gary Helouloomed large over this paper’s fifth Global Food Forum at Crown Melbourne yesterday, especially for the afternoon dairy session which involved two of the companies that Helou hit with his now infamously ­unsustainable $6-per-kilogram milk price: Fonterra and Bega Cheese.

Gary Helou. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Remember at last year’s forum Helou boldly promised his $6 price was a sustainable goal for the future. Three days later he was shown the door by his chairman Phil Tracy.

New Fonterra Australia boss Rene Dedoncker, who took over after Helou was gone, quipped at the start of yesterday’s panel: “Well I don’t believe in ghosts but I definitely feel a presence.’’

Bega Cheese boss Barry Irvin was more direct, noting with some derision that he was in the audience last year when Helou made his famous pledge.

The rest is history.

He’s back

Moving to the opulent foyer of Crown’s Melbourne gaming den, where who should be spotted but former Crown Resorts boss Rowen Craigie.

Rowen Craigie.

Craigie was seen deep in conversation with his former colleagues finance boss Ken Barton and Australian casino chief Barry Felstead.

He just can’t keep away from the place.

Tele tattle

Treasurer Scott Morrison is well known in political circles for three things: being mad about Tina Arena, starring in a 1970s Vicks commercial when he was a child actor and having an excellent relationship with The Daily Telegraph (owned by our parent company, News Corp).

So it makes perfect sense that The Tele’s chief of staff Andrew Carswell is moving into ScoMo’s office.

Tina Arena: one of Scott Morrison’s favourite things.

Although whether Carswell arrives in the Treasurer’s office in time to help draft Morrison’s second budget on May 9 will depend on when his current boss, Tele editor Chris Dore, can replace him.

The addition of Carswell — which seems to indicate the Treasurer’s keen focus on western Sydney marginal seats — comes weeks after Sasha Grebe left his job as ScoMo’s communications and strategy adviser after Anna Bligh beat him to the handsomely remunerated gig running the Australian Bankers’ Association.

Grebe starts in April as the head of government relations at listed services outfit Downer, which — after acting on advice from Matthew Grounds’ deal-hungry investment bank UBS — has launched a poorly received takeover attempt on MCG-caterer Spotless.

Late mail

Word is Mark Textor and Lynton Crosby will soon have a new Sydney-based consultant at their research and strategy outfit: Nigel Blunden, who was previously the chief head kicker for Mike Baird, back when the now NAB banker was premier of NSW.

Nigel Blunden.

Our mail is that Blunden — whose official title in the Baird office was director of strategy — will soon be balancing Crosby Textor duties with his own personal consultancy work. Nothing’s official yet.

Gone the other way is Macquarie Street old hand
John Macgowan, who has put down his CT consulting tools to join NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts’ office as a senior adviser.

That’s good news for
Gladys Berejiklian’s government, which isn’t exactly overflowing with hardened political warriors.

The movements come as Crosby Textor prepares to relocate its Sydney office from Governor Phillip Tower to its CBD sister building, Governor Macquarie Tower.

Hilariously, Tex and the gang only moved to GPT in December, but new hires have seen them quickly outgrow it. Not a bad problem to have.

Helping free up a bit of space is former Australian journo Leo Shanahan, who has been enticed from his job as Crosby Textor’s communications director with a gig on Ticky Fullerton’s flagship Sky Business show, Ticky. The handsome devil will be on screen from mid-April.

Never-ending story

Seven West Media’s troubles with Tim Worner’s former mistress Amber Harrison have been extended by another month.

Following discussion between Team Harrison and Team Seven, the case management hearing in the Federal Court in Melbourne has been pushed back by four weeks to April 28.

That will mean the Federal Court’s Mordecai “Mordy” Bromberg won’t share his thoughts on the case until after Justice John Sackar has made his ruling in Sydney’s Supreme Court. Seems a reasonable sequence of events.

Mordecai ‘Mordy’ Bromberg.

Next Thursday, on April 6, Sackar will decide whether the case should migrate to the Federal Court, as was requested by Harrison’s new star lawyer Julian Burnside.

Surely that’s not enough time for any more former Seven newsreaders to sue the media company over their maternity leave sacking?