When Turnbulls, Livingstone crowned new BCA king

Warren Mundine and Carnival Australia boss Ann Sherry. Picture: Hollie Adams

Incoming Business Council president Grant King had his new constituency laid out before him last night as big business farewelled outgoing head Catherine Livingstone at the lobby group’s annual dinner at the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney.

“They’re all here tonight,” one chairman told us of his blue-chip peers. “That’s what happens when business gets worried.”

Call it the Trumpeffect.

With commendable efficiency, Malcolm Turnbull and wife Lucy stepped out of the same elevators they used after the disappointing July 2 election, just after 7pm.

Less than three hours after they were escorted into the room by BCA boss Jennifer Westacott (who is not going anywhere), and King and Livingstone, Turnbull was on the PM’s jet to Peru for the APEC summit in Lima (for yet more debriefing on the Age of ­Donald Trump).

Before the Turnbulls arrived, Livingstone’s BCA board — Wesfarmers’ Richard Goyder (who was tipped to be the BCA president until his day job got in the way), Coca-Cola Amatil’s Alison Watkins, Energy Australia’s Catherine Tanna, Qantas boss Alan Joyce and CBA’s Ian Narev (who will have Livingstone as his bank’s chair next year) — were playing host, and secretly hoping the newbie King works out.

“He’s a very smart guy,” Woolworths and Origin chair Gordon Cairns told us of King, his long-serving CEO at Origin.

Cairns had just caught up with former Woolies boss turned consultant Roger Corbett — who has since left that gig and who was later in deep conversation with Woolies director Holly Kramer. Corbett’s never short of retail ­advice.

Trigger happy

Westacott may have had her BCA contract renewed despite the loud criticisms of Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger.

RBA Governor Phillip Lowe with ANZ chair David Gonski. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian.

Less fortunate was Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs, who this week found out her term — which ends half way through next year — will not be extended.

Australian Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian.

Awkwardly, the person who made that decision — Malcolm Turnbull — was seated only two tables away from Triggs last night. At least there was plenty of bubbly to take the edge off. Another Triggs sparring partner, The Australian’s editor-in-chief Paul Whittaker, was also only a table away.

Former ASX boss Elmer Funke Kupper. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian.

The first couple were well supported in the room by Turnbull confidants Cabinet secretary Arthur Sinodinos and Special Minister of State Scott Ryan.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann was also there, catching up with Goyder, while Industry Minister Greg Hunt talked shop with incoming BCA president King.

ASIC commissioner Cathie Armour, an internal favourite to replace boss Greg Medcraft, was along — wise with so much of the Turnbull government in the room.

New RBA governor Philip Lowe mingled with ANZ chair David Gonski, Westpac counterpart Lindsay Maxsted looked relaxed (the horse-mad Coolmore advisory board member no doubt buoyed by Nathan Tinkler’s unconvincing coal pitch the day before), and AMP chair Catherine Brenner had plenty of brains for advice about her maligned shop.

Also from the banking world was NAB boss Andrew Thorburn, as well as Gail Kelly, the former Westpac boss some members had hoped would follow Livingstone as president, as was AGL chair Belinda Hutchinson and the energy company’s boss Andrew Vesey.

CSIRO chair and former Telstra chief David Thodey, another mooted candidate for the presidency, showed his support. His successor at the telco giant, Andy Penn was there too, as was Kevin Rudd’s former chief of staff David Epstein, now at SingTel Optus.

Wombat-loving NAB chair Ken Henry chatted with outgoing Australian Bankers’ Association boss Steven Munchenberg.

Medibank Private boss Craig Drummond was with one of his directors and former Queensland premier, Anna Bligh.

More interesting was the chap chatting to UBS Australasia boss Matthews Grounds, former ASX boss Elmer Funke Kupper.

Good to see him getting out of the house.

Cooked chook

Archer Capital boss Peter Wiggs is no fan of the financial press.

He never misses an opportunity to dismiss the impact of the fourth estate on private equity.

At this year’s industry conference in August, Wiggs brushed aside the idea that the collapse of retailer Dick Smith (floated by Anchorage) had affected the reputation of his industry. “Who cares,” Wiggs declared.

He reckons the press just likes to feed off “bad news” and “slander” his industry.

Funny then, now that Wiggsy’s Archer is getting set to float its Quick Service Restaurant enterprise, which boasts the Red Rooster and Oporto brands, his PR machine is cranking for coverage in his beloved financial press.

Wiggsy’s internal operatives are “reaching out” spruiking “wonderful” interview opportunities with teenage burger flippers turned QSR execs, now that Wiggs has hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to list the fast food business, probably in the first half of next year.

Woolies chair Gordon Cairns is on the board, while former Westpac exec Rob Coombe, who ran the bank’s wealth management arm BT Financial Group and whose man cave famously featured in Australian House & Garden a few years back, is CEO of the QSR business. Coombe, we note, has considerable stock in the group.

We don’t expect, however, that Wiggsy’s operatives will be talking about the almost $38 million loss that QSR declared in its most recent financial results, compared with a $33m loss previously.

We do hear that the operation has had something of a turnaround in the past year, generating something like a bottom line of $35m, but that doesn’t erase net losses of between $30m and $40m a year for the preceding four years.

In the running

It seems negotiations between Racing Australia’s outgoing chief executive Peter McGauran (the former Howard minister) and Paula Dwyer’s Tabcorp are extremely well advanced.

Outgoing Racing Australia boss Peter McGauran.

Word is that McGauran has told acting NSW Liberals president Kent Johns that he will need to find a new honorary treasurer, with McGauran set to tap out of that unpaid party role in favour of a new gig at the gaming giant.

Can you blame him?

We hear the favoured replacement as NSW Liberals bean counter is Scott Briggs, who is now running his own private equity firm, Pacific Blue Capital, as well as being a consultant to James Packer’sCPH.

Briggs is also the man who helped get Malcolm Turnbull into the seat of Wentworth and is close to the second most senior federal NSW Liberal, Treasurer Scott Morrison. So lots of goodwill there should he agree to the gig to raise money for the re-elections of Turnbull and Premier Mike Baird.

As for McGauran, his appointment comes as Tabcorp buffs up ahead of its merger with Harry Boon’s gaming firm Tatts.

Assuming ACCC boss Rod Sims gives the $11 billion transaction the nod, of course.