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One of these board members, David Gallop, is the former head of the National Rugby League and as such could probably write the book on how to deal with behavioural indiscretions.
Rytenskild was stripped of all but his basic legal entitlements, so the alleged comment was particularly costly for his bank account – as much as $10 million.
He said could not recall the incident and that it was not language he would usually use.
Tabcorp was approaching this scandal in a distinctly glass-half-full fashion.
For its part, Tabcorp was approaching this scandal in a distinctly glass-half-full fashion. It has awarded itself a tick for the speed at which it responded to the allegations and its openness in providing a broad-brush explanation for why the chief executive had abruptly departed, beyond its legal disclosure obligations.
But it is still a scandal – and one that comes after it reported a loss of $637 million for the six months to December 31 – a figure largely affected by a $732 million non-cash impairment related to tax rates paid in NSW and South Australia.
The only lucky break Tabcorp received when it delivered the news of Rytenskild’s poorly pitched locker-room humour, was that it shared headlines with Myer’s off-the-reservation governance decision to appoint Wirth as its chairman and chief executive.
Incoming Myer chief executive and chairman Olivia Wirth. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Even if one ignores the fact that Wirth has no retail experience, combining the roles of chief executive and chair is unusual and frowned upon in Australia.
Despite Wirth’s talent, which was amply demonstrated while she expanded Qantas’ loyalty business, the lack of specific retail experience is risky.
(She replaces John King, who with decades of international retail experience and know-how took many years to place the department store operator on even a solid financial footing.)
Wirth’s dual appointment will leave her heavily reliant on Myer’s largest shareholder, Solomon Lew, who will have green-lit her appointment.
Lew is one of the country’s most talented retailers, so some shareholders will see his influence over Myer by stealth as outweighing the fact that he didn’t need to make a full bid for the company to seal the deal.
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