Reg Rowe retires as director of Super Retail Group

One of Australia’s most unassuming billionaires, Reg Rowe, has officially ended his work with the company he and wife Hazel founded from their suburban home 50 years ago.

Billionaire Reg Rowe has retired from the Board of the ASX-listed Super Retail Group which he and his late wife Hazel founded 50 years ago.

Ranked Queensland’s ninth richest person with a fortune of $1.41bn Rowe said while he remained passionate about the company the time was right for him to take a step back.

“The Group is in good hands under the stewardship of an experienced Board and management team, and with a strategy that will enable Super Retail Group to continue to innovate, grow the business and deliver value for our shareholders,” he says.

“Since 2004, I have been Super Retail Group’s largest shareholder and I have confirmed to the Board that I intend to remain a committed, long-term shareholder in the company that I am so proud to have started.”

Rowe has been replaced as non-executive director by Mark O’Hare who was Private Business Tax and Advisory Partner at Grant Thornton.

He was with Grant Thornton for 32 years and has been a long-time adviser to Rowe and his family.

Super Retail Group founder Reg Rowe.

With his late wife Hazel, Rowe founded Super Retail Group’s original business in 1972 as an automotive accessories mail-order business, which they ran from their Queensland home.

By 1974, the business had a turnover of $1m and opened its first retail location.

He served as managing director until 1996 and was chairman from 1996 to 2004 and then became a non-executive director.

The Group’s brands include BCF, Rebel and Supercheap Auto.

Super Retail Group chair Sally Pitkin described Rowe as a “giant of Australian retailing”.

“He has been pivotal to the development of Super Retail Group into Australia’s leading high-involvement lifestyle retailer and instrumental in positioning the business for sustainable growth,” she says.

“Although Reg retires from his formal role with the Board, we are delighted that he intends to continue his regular visits to our stores and offices, ensuring he will remain a familiar face for our team members.

“We thank Reg for his contributions as a non-executive director, and welcome Mark as the Group continues to focus on strengthening our competitive position and delivering long-term value for shareholders.”

Education mission

Education workforce improvement company PeopleBench will continue its expansion nationally and into the US after receiving almost $660,000 through the Accelerating Commercialisation program.

The Brisbane-based school workforce improvement company has made it its mission to help school leaders make better, more informed decisions about their school’s workforce in a bid to address rising pain points and skills shortages and the money will underpin its growth nationally and in the US.

Chief executive of PeopleBench Fleur Johnston.

PeopleBench founder and chief executive Fleur Johnston said the grant will allow the company to have a greater impact on workforce strategy in more schools, not just in Australia but abroad.

“Globally, we’ve seen an alarming shortage of teachers in the past few years, which puts immense pressure on the education sector and the wellbeing of educators required to bridge the gap,” she says.

“This grant is a big win for the education sector. We are proud to be working with public education in the United States with a focus on education equity, democratising access to workforce strategy, and taking action on teacher resilience.”

The grant was awarded by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources through the Entrepreneurs’ program.

With tools currently in use in Australian schools, PeopleBench has begun prototyping the Workforce Resilience TrackerTMand Workforce Strategy BuilderTM products for the US K12 education system.

The company has already secured 16 US school district customers and aims to secure more in 2023.