Tough when the private equiteers don’t even want a former prime minister in their midst.
Lucky for Malcolm Turnbull he’s independently wealthy, because his post-politics career as a non-executive director for hire looks to be drawing to a close.
Sydney-based PE outfit Mercury Capital has completed its buy of the 40 per stake in advisory outfit Findex that was previously controlled by KKR.
The boutique outfit, led by founder Clark Perkins, reckons it can do a better job overseeing the accountants and consultants across 100 or so offices in Oz and NZ than the likes of Turnbull, who has been dumped from the Findex board as it is repopulated with Mercury reps.
Former Myer chair and enduring TWE director Garry Hounsell has been bounced too, with Perkins and his Mercury colleagues, Ben Hawter and Brent Matuschka, who manage about $2bn in funds, now filling the chairs formerly filled by the big names.
This all follows Turnbull’s exit earlier this year from his several directorships within Andrew Forrest’s resources empire.
Copping it sweet
Looks like the powers that be at NSW Police, Police Minister Yasmin Catley and her staff have finally got the message when it comes to filling the all-important gig of top media adviser to Police Commissioner Karen Webb.
The force and politician spent much of the front end of this year dealing with the fallout from the controversial hiring of veteran journalist and more recently Channel 7 producer Steve Jackson as NSW Police media director. In March he was hired on a six-month contract.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and the force said it would not be going ahead with the hire, which was prompted when the previous media director left after Webb came under pressure for her public handling of the alleged murders of Luke Davies and Jesse Baird.
Questions had been raised about the process of hiring Jackson and the involvement of Catley’s office, with the minister denying accusations that her office engaged in any improper interference after her chief of staff recommended Jackson for the job.
At the time NSW Police decided it best that the temporary contract be terminated because the role needed to be free from “external distractions”.
Now the official call has gone out to fill the $293,000 to $3330,000-a-year gig on a permanent basis.
Former Spotlight hacks need not apply.
On the road again
Country Road boss Raju Vuppalapati is keeping his job, for now, running the Woolworths South Africa-owned fashion business, following release of a report into management’s handling of sexual harassment and bullying allegations.
Previously Sydney-based Vuppalapati will be grateful, given he’s only recently sunk some expensive roots in Melbourne, where the fashion house is headquartered.
The boss at the end of last year slapped down $7.2m (with a little bit of help from NAB) for a brand-new modern masterpiece with all the bells and whistles in leafy Hawthorn, in the same Scotch Hill precinct the likes of Jayne Hrdlicka and Josh Frydenberg have also called home.
Vuppalapati, against whom no allegations made were made, previously ran RM Williams and relocated from Mosman for the Country Road role.
Gift from God
We guess a biblical experience comes down to personal preference; how one man chooses to tune into a higher power might be junk mail to another.
As far as we can tell, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese isn’t ruling any messenger in or out, if the latest disclosures to his register of member’s interests are a guide.
First there is the gift of his Pentecostal predecessor in the nation’s top office Scott Morrison’s newly-published book Plans for Your Good – A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness.
Has Catholic Albo read ScoMo’s memoir yet? Does he plan to? Or has he promptly consigned the work to the dustbin?
We asked Albo’s press secretary and former journalist with The Guardian, Katherine Murphy, but she didn’t get back to us.
Then there were tickets from artist Nick Cave to the PM for the creative’s solo show at the State Theatre in Sydney at the end of April.
Respective spiritual inspiration delivered like chalk and cheese.
All in the family
Still on disclosures, or lack thereof, we note there’s been none for some time from rookie Member for Flinders Zoe McKenzie, who won her seat on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula for the Libs at the last federal election following the retirement of Greg Hunt.
McKenzie’s husband is former barrister Rodrigo Pintos Lopez, who is now also former chief of staff to Liberal leader in Victoria John Pesutto. Pintos Lopez in March pulled the plug after just a year at Spring St, at the same time as Pesutto’s media chief Nick Johnston walked. When Pintos Lopez landed the plum political role McKenzie quickly disclosed that her husband was receiving “income as a Victorian public servant”.
It’s been eight weeks since that changed, but still no update that he’s now out of a gig and has rebranded himself, via his LinkedIn, as a self-employed “consultant”.
Still, the adviser remains something of a player in Victoria. He’s rumoured to have provided an affidavit in Moira Deeming’s unfolding defamation action against Pesutto.
McKenzie, who is losing her own media person, didn’t return our call. Maybe that’s something her capable hubby might help with in the short-term.
More wrongs than rights at the AHRC?
A case of curious priorities over at the Australian Human Rights Commission where hand-picked appointee Giridharan Sivaraman seems to prefer playing politics over action on anti-Semitism.
Freehills partner given notice over synagogue tweet
Herbert Smith Freehills leaders have voted to remove one of its longstanding partners, Damien Hazard, over a ‘deeply offensive’ tweet targeting Jeremy Leibler.