Documents show global executive was rejected for NY trade commissioner role in favour of John Barilaro

Newly released internal emails reveal a global executive with extensive experience was rejected for a plum job in New York in favour of John Barilaro.

A female executive with a world-class CV was short-listed for a US trade commissioner role before being rejected in favour of John Barilaro, new documents show.

The former NSW deputy premier, who created the position while in government, beat Telstra Business Woman Award finalist Kimberly Cole for the job, despite having little international experience.

Ms Cole, who is global head of sales and marketing at Lynk, was one of three short-listed candidates for the New York role, emails from March reveal.

She was even referred to as the “preferred” candidate in one March 16 email.

But Amy Brown, who was responsible for the recruitment process as Investment NSW chief executive, said that wasn't correct in a reply five days later.

Former deputy premier John Barilaro was selected for the role last month but gave it up. Picture: NCA News Wire / Gaye Gerard

“I‘d like to clarify that we don’t currently have a preferred candidate for the (state trade and investment commissioner) US role,” she wrote on March 21.

“We currently have three short-listed candidates, and (Trade Minister Stuart Ayres) is meeting Kimberley in her capacity as short-listed candidate only.”

The emails were part of a bundle of documents released under an order of parliament on Thursday.

They shed more light on the controversial process by which Mr Barilaro was appointed to the $500,000-a-year New York job – which he gave up last week under sustained media pressure.

The job was initially offered verbally to former Investment NSW deputy secretary Jenny West, although no contract was signed.

Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown wrote one of the emails which were released on Thursday. Picture: AAP / Dan Himbrechts

That offer was made in August last year, but by the next month, Ms West was told she might not get the job after all.

The verbal offer was withdrawn on October 1, three days before Mr Barilaro resigned from parliament.

His own appointment as trade commissioner was announced on June 17 after a second recruitment process took place, the one Ms Cole was also part of.

The new documents also include a brief approved by Mr Ayres in August 2021 which confirmed Ms West was the “successful candidate” in the first recruitment process.

They also contained a portion of Ms Cole’s CV, which showed she had climbed the ranks of Thomson Reuters, from head of marketing in Asia in 2006 to global head of marketing operations in London in 2010.

By 2013 she had been appointed head of sales for the media conglomerate’s Asia operations.

She started working with Lynk, a company branding itself as a “knowledge-as-a-service” platform, in 2019.

Mr Barilaro‘s own CV, according to LinkedIn, says he was in the building business, including as the founder of a firm manufacturing energy-efficient building products, before entering parliament in 2011.

There he held the several portfolios related to tourism, business and trade, including as trade minister.

Deputy Labor leader Penny Sharpe said the documents would beg more questions to be explored by a parliamentary committee looking into the matter.

“This really leads to more questions being asked about this appointment and the involvement of Minister Ayres and secretary Brown in relation to this process and I expect that the parliamentary committee will look into this further,” she said.

Originally published as Documents show global executive was rejected for NY trade commissioner role in favour of John Barilaro