White has been a notified seller of shares until last December. But an investigation by Nine mastheads revealed that he continued to offload shares after that time and while he was no longer officially an employee of WiseTech.
In October 2024, he stood aside as chief executive of WiseTech but in February this year, he rejoined the company as executive chairman.
From a governance perspective, it’s difficult to comprehend how White managed to receive a promotion to executive chairman of WiseTech even after half the board resigned following several of his relationships, including one with a staff member, coming to light.
Despite the tumult, White has so far managed to stay on top at WiseTech, but is he starting to use up his nine lives?
He has around one-third of the WiseTech shares and therefore de facto control, so dislodging him from the company is difficult if not impossible. He has also rebuilt the board using long-standing supporters.
White is not just any executive; he is also the founder of this successful company and is considered a key man in its success.
While some shareholders with strict governance criteria for investing in companies would shy away from WiseTech following White’s serial scandals, others have punted on the continued success of this logistics software business.
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While White’s personal relationship behaviour may have breached WiseTech’s disclosure guidelines, they didn’t fall within the remit of ASIC.
But certain types of share-trading does. And if ASIC’s investigations involve insider trading – which involves someone trading securities in a listed company based on material non-public information – there are potentially serious ramifications.
So it’s a bit strange that WiseTech has made no mention of White standing down from his position until the ASIC investigation is concluded. But then again, nothing screams survivor like White.
Any other top 20 listed companies would have dispensed with an executive with an equivalent dubious personal form. White by contrast is a human headline.
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