Board stoush between AGL Energy and Mike Cannon-Brookes heats up
Mike Cannon-Brookes, AGL’s largest shareholder, has written to investors as part of a campaign for the appointment of new directors to the power giant’s board.
Mike Cannon-Brookes and AGL Energy have clashed ahead of its annual shareholder meeting, with the billionaire accusing the power giant of failing to deliver on its potential amid a spat over new appointments to its board.
AGL’s largest investor will send a letter to the company’s shareholders on Monday reiterating a call for four new directors to be elected to the board and calling for a vote against both its remuneration and climate transition action plan.
“We believe that the current board is not up to the challenge of delivering on AGL’s potential. AGL’s board includes five directors, four of whom were planning to lead AGL’s smaller, demerged entities,” Mr Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures writes in the letter. “Without expanding the size, diversity and skills of the board, we believe AGL will continue to fall behind the rapidly transforming energy industry, and further destroy shareholder value.”
Grok said it supported the election of directors Graham Cockcroft, Vanessa Sullivan and Miles George and the re-election of chairman Patricia McKenzie, but a larger board was required to execute its transformation to a green retailer and generator.
AGL has indicated its board will only support Grok’s nomination of former Tesla executive Mark Twidell, and reject former Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott, Australian Financial Complaints Authority chair John Pollaers and Metcash and CSR director Christine Holman.
Mr Pollaers told The Australian AGL’s board had a conservative outlook and a fear of reinventing its strategy – and required a complete overhaul.
AGL on Sunday reiterated its opposition to the three directors’ appointment. “While the board acknowledges the skills and experience of the other Grok candidates, we do not believe they will provide the further experience and skills necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the board’s strategy,” an AGL spokeswoman said.
The electricity operator already lost in another high-profile spat with the tech titan when it was forced to shelve its planned demerger earlier this year, resulting in both its chief executive Graeme Hunt and former chairman Peter Botten being ousted.
AGL was hit by a backlash on climate change at its 2021 annual general meeting after more than half of investors demanded steeper carbon cuts, a result hailed by Mr Cannon-Brookes as a defining moment for Australia’s climate ambitions.
Grok will tell shareholders on Monday to vote against its climate plan, saying it targeted a strategy that aligns with a 1.8 degree global warming target rather than a 1.5 degree goal.
“AGL requires more accelerated decarbonisation ambitions to secure and maintain the market-leading position as Australia’s largest, greenest and most reliable energy retailer, in turn delivering higher shareholder returns,” Grok said.
AGL, led by Damien Nicks on an interim basis, said it would be “disappointing to many” that Grok was not backing its climate scheme, which would go to a non-binding vote at the November 15 annual general meeting.
“AGL board’s climate transition action plan aligns to the Australian Energy Market Operator’s stated position, and the sector has noted it is not an easy task to deliver, and we need a co-ordinated approach.
“The successful implementation of the climate transition action plan will be required to meet current widely agreed and accepted goals.”
Grok says AGL’s remuneration report aligns management incentives with “unambitious decarbonisation targets” that are out of step with the market.
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