The out of town chairs whose companies struggle

September 7, 2023

The Mayne Report has long had a theory that trouble is more likely to hit public companies which have a chairman who lives in a different city from the head office and CEO. The near collapse of Commander Communications is the latest addition to the list.

Rick Allert: lived in Adelaide when Melbourne-based Coles hit the rocks.

Rick Allert: chaired Adelaide-based Southcorp from Adelaide but CEO Keith Lambert was living in Sydney when he mismanaged the once great Australian wine company.

Geoffrey Cohen: the Melbourne-based chairman of HIH Insurance when Ray Williams was destroying the company from Sydney.

Richard Goyder: Perth-based chairman of Qantas when Alan Joyce was running amok during the COVID years.

Bob Mansfield: chaired Telstra from Sydney but his CEO Ziggy Switkowski lived in Melbourne.

Elisabeth Nosworthy: lived in Brisbane when Melbourne-based Commander Communication flopped.

Stan Wallis: lived in Melbourne when Sydney-based AMP almost went under.

Peter Willcox: Melbourne-based chairman of AMP when it almost down in the early days under Sydney-based CEO Andrew Mohl.

Send through some feedback to stephen@maynereport.com.

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The out of town chairs whose companies struggle

September 7, 2023

The Mayne Report has long had a theory that trouble is more likely to hit public companies which have a chairman who lives in a different city from the head office and CEO. The near collapse of Commander Communications is the latest addition to the list.