WiseTech's double trouble
The next CEO of the $42 billion logistics software giant will join a company where his predecessor Richard White still holds great power. Can the board make it work?
Six weeks after Richard White stepped down as CEO, the WiseTech Global board is trying to reassure investors it is up to the task of managing him.
“It’s been [asked], perhaps not quite as directly as this, but ‘isn’t the board just a slave to Richard?’ No, I don’t think [so]. You don’t see it that way, we don’t see it that way, it’s never really been that way,” chair Richard Dammery told a roomful of analysts and shareholders gathered at the W Sydney Hotel on Tuesday.
Whether you buy that or not, the comment reflects a key concern for the $42 billion logistics software giant, which now faces a ‘two popes’ dilemma.
By relinquishing his roles as chief executive and director, White has ostensibly stepped back from formal leadership to focus on the product side of the business. But as a consultant reporting directly to the board, he will no doubt maintain significant influence.
