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Shares in WiseTech lost almost a quarter of their value on Monday after a majority of its board, including the chair, resigned over “intractable differences” related to scandal-hit co-founder Richard White’s future role at Australia’s largest listed technology company.
Four of the logistics software group’s six directors, including chair Richard Dammery, said they would stand down this week because of “differing views around the ongoing role of the founder”.
The company’s shares fell more than 22 per cent after the announcement.
White, who co-founded WiseTech in 1994, has been battling allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women, which he has denied. In October, he stepped down as chief executive but stayed with the company in a consulting role “focused on product and business development”, the board said at the time.
The independent director exits mean the company’s board now only consists of Maree Isaacs, a co-founder of the company alongside White, and Charles Gibbon, a former chair who has been on the board since 2006 and is an investor in the business through his Shearwater Capital fund.
Michael Gregg, another Shearwater Capital founder who sat on the WiseTech board for 17 years, will rejoin as a non-executive director this week, while new directors will be appointed “in due course”, said the company.
The turmoil began with a legal dispute between White and a former girlfriend over an unpaid furniture bill, which triggered allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women, including an employee. A complaint from a former board member about alleged bullying behaviour piled on further pressure.
WiseTech’s market capitalisation fell from a peak of A$45bn (US$30bn) prior to the revelations to A$33bn in October. Shares recovered at the end of 2024 as White transitioned into his consulting role and an interim CEO was put in place.
In recent weeks, however, further allegations by women of inappropriate behaviour by White have been put to the board, prompting new investigations and a boardroom battle over his continued role in the business.
The company said this month it had also received two confidential claims, one from an employee and another from a supplier, regarding White but did not specify the nature of the complaints. WiseTech halted trading in its shares last week as the board met to discuss “matters of governance” related to the investigations.
White has not responded to the confidential claims and declined to comment. He has, however, denied allegations made by a former employee who has launched a legal case accusing him of providing financial assistance and support for her visa if she maintained a personal relationship with him. He said in statement that he intended to “vigorously defend” himself against the claim.
Dammery was appointed chair last year after joining the board in 2021. He had overseen the initial investigations into White’s behaviour and the creation of his new consulting role. Two of the other departing non-executive directors only joined the board in 2024.
Roy Van Keulen, an analyst with Morningstar, said the boardroom resignations did not represent a “material loss” and signalled a shift in power back towards the company’s founder.
WiseTech said White would present results alongside the company’s interim chief on Wednesday, when it is set to report first-half revenue at the lower end of market expectations. White is also expected to answer questions from shareholders.
White, who started his career repairing guitars for members of the band AC/DC in the 1970s, co-founded WiseTech to develop systems to automate logistics processes ranging from freight forwarding to customs clearances. In recent years, it has expanded into new markets, including truck-based cargo and warehouse technology.
