Turmoil ahead of exit by Oil Search executive Ayten Saridas
A meeting between Oil Search chairman Rick Lee and an executive concerned about bullying was cut short, according to sources. The executive, Ayten Saridas, has since quit.
Oil Search chairman Rick Lee abruptly ended a meeting with the company’s then chief financial officer, telling her there was no reason to continue discussing the allegations of bullying and harassment she had made against the gas producer’s CEO.
Mr Lee meet with Ayten Saridas for 20 minutes at Sydney’s Governor Phillip Tower on November 16, 2020 after the executive made the allegations against Kieran Wulff.
Despite the tumult, the company told the ASX Ms Saridas had left by mutual agreement. Ms Saridas is pursuing legal action against Oil Search.
Mr Wulff, The Weekend Australian has confirmed, had been on sick leave for several weeks before he resigned citing “health reasons”. By then, the company had already received the first of two separate complaints made to its confidential hotline about Mr Wulff’s behaviour.
Sources told The Weekend Australian in August the internal whistleblower included in their complaint fears that Mr Wulff’s tight relationship with Mr Lee may prejudice any probe into the issues, while also accusing the chairman of acting as a de facto executive. Mr Wulff has previously declined to comment.
Mr Wulff spoke to his chairman four to five times a day on a range of issues, which put a number of his executives offside and led to them feeling disenfranchised, the sources said.
The brief meeting between Ms Saridas and Mr Lee came shortly after Ms Saridas had met with Mr Wulff, at his request, in an attempt to settle the issue.
Mr Wulff had already been briefed by Mr Lee on the contents of the complaint, the Financial Review reported this week.
Mr Wulff was understood to be frustrated and annoyed at the situation and, over the course of a 40-minute discussion, said he had hoped Ms Saridas would have presented to shareholders at its looming annual investor day on Friday.
Shortly after the meetings with Mr Wulff and Mr Lee, Ms Saridas handed in her security pass to an Oil Search employee and never entered corporate headquarters again.
Oil Search told investors on November 27 Ms Saridas had “decided to resign to pursue other opportunities in the corporate sector”.
Mr Wulff “wished Ms Saridas all the best in her next career chapter and thanked her for the valuable contributions … during her time with the company”, a statement read.
Oil Search declined to comment. The former Santos, Coronado Global Resources and Woolworths executive has yet to take up a new role.
Ms Saridas filed a statement of claim in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday seeking damages for mental anguish, distress and physical injury due to psychological strains, along with costs following an alleged breach of her employment conditions.
Oil Search said it denied the claims and will be “fully defending” the lawsuit.
Mr Wulff resigned from the Papua New Guinea LNG producer on July 19 following issues raised over bullying, including a second whistleblower complaint in mid-June, sparking an investigation that found evidence of inappropriate behaviour.
He resigned owing to a combination of deteriorating health and complaints over bullying.
Mr Wulff did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
The bombshell lawsuit has landed at a delicate time for Oil Search as it works to sell its $21bn merger with Santos to shareholders, ahead of a critical vote on December 7 that requires 75 per cent approval to get a deal over the line.
With an independent expert raising concern the company could be handed over too cheaply to its major oil and gas rival, Oil Search approached Santos over boosting its share of the mega deal, The Australian reported, but was rebuffed by its South Australian suitor. The merger still faces concerns from some investors.