Woolies legal eagle Richard Dammery has wings clipped

Illustration: Rod Clement.

What’s going on in the upper echelons of Brad Banducci’s grocer, Woolworths?

Woolies chief legal counsel and company secretary Richard Dammery’s duties are expanding and contracting like a piano accordion.

This week’s shock redundancy of communications exec Jennifer James after just five months is only the latest change in the head lawyer’s orbit. Before her departure, James reported to Dammery and was his recruit from PepsiCo in Hong Kong.

Recent months have seen something of a diminution in Dammery’s duties at Banducci’s retail giant, most notably via the appointment of Marcin Firek, who has joined from the ASX to become Bella Vista’s second company secretary. Why two?

Brad Banducci, centre, with Richard Dammery, far right.

Meanwhile, responsibility for stakeholder relations has gone from Dammery to chief strategy officer James Goth and Dammery’s watch over merger and acquisition activity has gone to deputy chief financial officer Colin Storrie.

Dammery joined Woolies in 2014 from Minter Ellison, where he had been a partner for six years.

The line peddled in Bella Vista is that Dammery has returned to his “core duties”. Sounds ominous for someone who netted $1.5 million in 2016.

And we can’t help but notice the legal eagle set up a new family super fund at the start of last month, with his wife Anita and two daughters as directors and equal shareholders.

For now Dammery, 52, commutes from his McMahons Point townhouse to Woolies’ far northwest Sydney headquarters. He also has a lovely property at Red Hill on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, just five minutes from the seaside.

Seems he’s all prepared for life after Woolies — whenever that might begin.

No role for Fahour

Here’s the latest update on Ahmed Fahour’s life after Australia Post — the $5.6m man ­Fahour is not going to be working for the $10.8 billion man ­Anthony Pratt, the recycling and packaging tycoon.

“No,” Pratt, the executive chairman of Visy Industries and Pratt Industries, answered emphatically after his appearance at a business media conference in Sydney.

“He has not approached us and we’ve not approached him. We’re very happy with our own people,” Pratt added.

Fahour has been close to the Pratt family. The former NAB executive used to be an ambitious member on the board of Carlton Football Club, an AFL team the Pratt family has generously supported and of which matriarch Jeanne Pratt is vice-president.

Ahmed Fahour and Jeanne Pratt

And, of course, Fahour has a gig as the chairman of Pro-Pac, the packaging company backed by Anthony’s brother-in-law, Raphael “Ruffy” Geminder.

“He’s a competitor,” Pratt said, pointing out Fahour’s $109,500-a-year Pro-Pac role.

Seems if there was to be an enlarged role for Fahour in Pratt-land it will be over in the Geminder camp. Glad that’s cleared up.

After the gravy train

Back to Jennifer James, who can take some solace in the fact that there is life after Woolworths, albeit with a little help from your friends.

James’s predecessor in the head of corporate affairs role, Pete McConnell — formerly chief of staff to NSW premier Barry O’Farrell — is busy with his start-up Commtract.

The business, which is an online marketplace for communications professionals, has about $1m in backing from sometime Woolies consultant Ross Thornton, his Temple Executive Search business partner Rebecca Tabakoff and fellow recruiter Anna Whitlam.

McConnell controls 30 per cent of the equity and is running things with Trade Minister Andrew Robb’s former adviser, Luke Achterstraat.

After McConnell left Woolies but before James started in October the key comms role was filled by Claire Kimball, a former press secretary to prime minister Tony Abbott.

Claire Kimball

Kimball left the retailer when James started and on Wednesday — as James was walking out the door — Kimball was launching her new online start-up The Squiz. What timing!

Kimball’s punchy news service targets professional women and is underpinned by her private Tangari Media, in which she is the sole shareholder.

Chin wag

There was an Aunty reunion at Sydney’s Rockpool Bar & Grill yesterday as former ABC managing director Mark Scott and former ABC chairman Maurice Newman caught up for lunch.

It was a good spot debrief on the big week Scott’s successor as managing director, Michelle Guthrie, has had as Guthrie trims the public broadcaster’s considerable workforce.

Scott is now the secretary of the NSW Department of Education, which is currently busy with Punchbowl Boys High School. Scott’s capable minister Rob Stokes — recently shuffled from his beloved planning portfolio to education by new Premier Gladys Berejiklian — is presently in England, finishing the final days of a 2½-year masters of planning
in sustainable urban development.

Gone to the dogs

To another minister in the Berejiklian government.

Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Toole was at Wentworth Park on Wednesday night to observe the dynamite stick in his new portfolio: greyhound racing.

While his suit stuck out a bit trackside, O’Toole, the Nationals member for Bathurst, seemed to have a good time. The lucky man even met race winner Walkaway Bonnie and her Bungendore trainer, Lesley Hannaford.

Paul Toole at Wentworth Park

Toole — who, for his sins, was the minister for local government in Mike Baird’s council amalgamating administration — has raw memories of the sport.

Baird’s greyhound racing ban, and subsequent backflip, rattled his government and led to now Deputy Premier John Barilaro white-anting, and then replacing, his once good friend Troy Grant.

It also hastened Baird’s departure from the thankless world of state politics to a
well-remunerated gig at NAB, which is run by his former churchmate, Andrew Thorburn.

And with Shooters and Fishers crossbenches now demanding $150m in assistance for the divisive industry, the issue is far from settled.

The old Tim Worner

Beleaguered Seven West boss Tim Worner has found an unusual ally in his and his media company’s public battle against his former mistress and group personal assistant Amber Harrison.

And we’re not talking about Worner’s proprietorial billionaire chairman Kerry Stokes.

At the launch on Wednesday night of cartoonist Bill Leak’s latest book Trigger Warning, Australian cultural icon Sir Les Patterson was empathetic to the still unfolding plight of the media boss.

“I am a man who has attained his stature in the political spectrum because … I’ll go to any length ...,” Sir Les told the gathering, before pausing for emphasis. “And that’s how I like my research assistants.”

“Forgive me a bit of the old ‘Tim Worner’ there.

“Well, we all put our hands on the wrong knee from time to time.”

Sir Les, right, with Bill Leak

The 74-year-old former cultural attache also had a lesson for the resilient Seven chief.

Sir Les said he had maintained his position in the upper echelons of politics and international diplomacy by “doing the opposite of what old Worney did”.

“I believe in rooting everyone in the office, not just one,” the veteran offered. “That was his mistake.”

Where’s Wally?

The crème de la crème of corporate Melbourne and beyond was out in force last night as the National Gallery of Victoria played host to the seventh annual Melbourne Foundation for Business and Economics Annual Dinner.

Foundation chairman Tony Burgess and Melbourne University Faculty of Business and Economics chairman Peter Yates played hosts in the foyer, while keynote speaker Jetstar CEO Jayne Hrdlicka brushed up on her speaking notes with her boss, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, as the airline’s chairman, Leigh Clifford, looked on.

Big corporates were well represented by the likes of new Medibank Private boss Craig Drummond, Tabcorp chairman Paula Dwyer (happy with the day’s ACCC nod), GE Australia chief Geoff Culbert, Myer’s Richard Umbers, Orica’s Alberto Calderon, Carnival Australia boss Ann Sherry, recently retired Bunnings boss John Gillam, Costa Group’s Harry Debney, former AMP chairman Simon McKeon, and the old and new connection at CSL with current director Marie McDonald and former long-serving CEO Brian McNamee.

The wealthy privates were also out in force represented by the likes of Rupert Myer, Paul Little and wife Jane Hansen, and rich QC Allan Myers, who posed for pictures with Flagstaff’s Charles Goode and Chris Leptos.

Also along from advisory land were Flagstaff’s David Williamson, PBB’s Ian Carson, Macquarie’s Tim Joyce, Evans & Partner’s Paul Ryan, UBS’s Kelvin Barry and Deutsche’s Steven Skala.

Ex-pollies and bureaucrats were also among the crowd, including John Brumby , Lindsay Tanner, Terry Moran and the man who replaced him as Canberra’s head mandarin, Ian Watt, who is now a Citigroup director.