Tapping out
The ousting of founders is almost always messy. WiseTech investors are clearly happy that Richard White found a way to remain within the business despite his recent scandals.
Embattled WiseTech founder Richard White has already been described as an Australian version of Elon Musk. But in terms of career trajectory and current predicament, there may be more apt comparisons.
There is a long list of tech founders who have been ousted from the businesses they built. In some cases — think Steve Jobs’ first stint at Apple — that has been a disastrous decision; in others — such as Travis Kalanick at Uber — it has worked out well for everyone involved.
There are also instances in business where a dominant founder and shareholder is pushed out from the company they created, and it leads to significant upheaval. This was the scenario WiseTech’s board clearly wanted to avoid, and it goes some way to explaining why White was kept on as a “founding CEO”. It’s an awkward-looking arrangement but also one the market clearly likes — WiseTech shares rebounded more than 12% on Friday.
One famous example of an ousted founder and major shareholder, depicted in the new Mr McMahon documentary on Netflix, isn’t from the tech industry at all. Like White, pro-wrestling entrepreneur Vince McMahon built an obscure business from the ground up into the dominant global player in its industry, and a multi-billion dollar listed company. Just like many couldn’t imagine a WiseTech without Richard White (until earlier this week), a McMahon-less WWE was inconceivable.
