James Packer lays down the law at Crown

Illustration: Rod Clement

If there was any doubt James Packer still had a close interest in the operations of Crown Resorts over the past 18 months amid his ongoing battles with mental health issues, they were well and truly dispelled at Patricia Bergin’sinquisition into the company on Wednesday.

The inquiry was told that after Packer formally resigned from the boards of Crown and his private company Consolidated Press Holdings in August 2018 following his bombshell revelation in March that year of his mental health battle, the casino company’s board signed off two months later on a controlling shareholder protocol.

This allowed executives to share confidential financial information with Packer, including daily earnings updates for the company. And for them to clearly cop a roasting or two along the way from the billionaire, according to evidence presented to the inquiry.

In December 2018, Packer told then chief financial officer (now CEO) Ken Barton he was sick of the company missing its forecasts and asked for him to model a conservative downside plan.

Three months later, he accused Barton and other executives of having their “heads in the sand”, that he was “sick of never meeting the plans” and warned them to “make sure, for your own sake, we achieve the financial year 2020 plan”. He also asked for the company’s business plan out to 2022.

In May, Packer asked Barton if he had a full-year financial forecast he “believed in yet”.

Asked by Counsel Assisting Adam Bell if he feared for his job as a result of the February threat, an understated Barton replied: “I am not sure I took it that way but he was making it clear he was looking for a plan that was achievable for fiscal year 2020”.

We can only wonder what Packer had to say when the board decided in August to cut his $75m dividend after resolving to controversially make the payment in February just as Crown applied for JobKeeper support for its staff.

With Covid closing Crown’s casinos, a public inquiry, a class action and Packer still on his tail, Barton will be earning every dollar of his $3m annual salary.

Up and under

With Qantas out of the Wallabies scrum after three decades, new Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan will no doubt be racking his brain to tap the biggest footy fans in his Rolodex.

Surely, the opportunity to be brandished across the chests of Wallabies stars the likes of Michael Hooper and James O’Connor, or the exciting youngster Jordan Petaia, will be snapped up in a lineout of Australia’s best corporates.

Jordan Petaia of Australia dives to score his side's second try during the Rugby World Cup in Oita, Japan. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Take NAB for example, led by footy fanatic Ross McEwan. While he is loyal to his native All Blacks, there’s no doubt the lure of closer ties to the sport could see him swap his team colours for the green and gold, and would likely be backed by chair Phil Chronican — a former player in his hey day.

While sizing up potential bank sponsors, Margin Call would be remiss not to mention Westpac, whose latest board recruit Michael Hawker is a 25-capped Wallaby in his own right. The bank also has close ties to former golden boy of Aussie rugby John Eales — though perhaps he may have more sway with his board memberships at Hamish Douglass’s Magellan or FujiXerox (his directorship at Flight Centre is unlikely to yield any real benefit).

While racing is its usual sport of choice, Star Entertainment could get a look in thanks to chairman and former Australian Rugby Union chief John O’Neill — let’s not forget his pivotal role in bringing the World Cup to Australian soil in 2003.

Even mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest is in the mix, though it might take some convincing, given his push for his own Global Rapid Rugby league.

Knives out for Myer

Not content with his assault on underperforming investment funds, Geoff Wilson has put his target on Myer, calling for the reduction of its board and director fee pool as the department store fights to stay afloat.

And boy does he work quickly.

After receipt of Wilson’s hard-talking letter to Myer chair Garry Hounsell on Tuesday, the board swiftly announced the departure of directors Lyndsey Cattermole and Julie Ann Morrison on Wednesday morning, seemingly spurred on by Wilson’s suggestions.

Geoff Wilson, Wilson Asset Management. Picture: Stephen Cooper

That leaves five directors, including chief executive John King, and makes a $370,000 cut to the group’s annual director fee bill for at least for the next two years.

While there’s no doubting the turnaround given Wilson’s stellar corporate record, Margin Call hears there are a few errant whispers on the course of events.

If only the biggest, and arguably loudest, Myer shareholder Solomon Lew had the same magic touch.

The Premier Investments founder has been vocal in his calls for the resignation of the Myer board since it joined the register three years ago, and Lew resumed his bitter public campaign for sweeping changes earlier this month.

One can only assume there’ll be more jabs to come when Premier hands down its results on Friday.

Rocky road to the top

Commonwealth Bank chief Matt Comyn has revealed how his rise to the top job may have been scuppered after a misstep early in his career.

Speaking to an alumni event at the University of New South Wales, Comyn was introduced by chancellor and outgoing ANZ chairman David Gonski as perhaps the first alumnus of the sandstone university to make it to boss of a big four bank.

That is, of course, making clear the distinction as both most recent Macquarie bosses Nicholas Moore and the Shemara Wikramanayake note UNSW as their alma mater.

In questions from NSW education department secretary and former ABC managing director Mark Scott, Comyn shared details of his upbringing, including the death of his father when he was six, all the way through to his formative years at CBA, including an anecdote about former chief of the bank, Ralph Norris, who declared Comyn would never be welcomed back after defecting to Morgan Stanley.

Whether his investment banking career would have been as much of a wild ride as his time at the nation’s biggest bank is a question for the gods, with his predecessor Ian Narev to thank for making Norris come around less than a year later.

Back to present day and on the subject of work-life balance, Comyn said he ensured his three kids kept up to date with their chores in order to hit their pocket money performance hurdles.

We just hope the shareholder backlash on pay rises isn’t as fierce at their place.