Cannon-Brookes tones down AGL board demand

Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes has declared he will seek only one nominee to the board of power giant AGL instead of two, so long as he is confident the vacated positions are filled by candidates with suitable experience, expertise and vision for the company’s future.

AGL, the nation’s largest carbon emitter, was plunged into crisis this week after a shareholder push, led by Cannon-Brookes, scuttled the proposed break-up of its retail and power generation businesses.

The announcement forced the resignations of AGL chief executive Graeme Hunt and chairman Peter Botten as well as independent directors Diane Smith-Gander and Jacqueline Hey, with remaining board directors set to conduct a strategic review into the future of the 180-year-old company.

Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of software developer Atlassian and one of Australia’s richest people, successfully argued that splitting AGL into smaller entities would leave it less able to fund the investments needed to bring forward the closures of its coal-fired power stations that are not currently due to retire until 2045.

His private investment company, Grok Ventures, which has amassed an 11 per cent interest in the ASX-listed utilities company, originally said it would seek two nominees to the AGL board, but on Friday revised its request following feedback from other investors about the appropriate level of representation.

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A spokesman said Grok had been impressed with the inbound interest it had received from high-quality independent director candidates.

“This has given us comfort [that] the board renewal process will have access to a pool of talent who have the requisite skills and experience,” he said. “As a result, Grok will seek one nominee on the board with the caveat the vacated balance is filled by experienced independent directors, a strong independent Chair and a visionary CEO.”

As well as Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures, other large AGL shareholders, including such as industry super fund HESTA and UK-based Martin Currie, had also vowed to reject the split, insisting AGL would have a better future if it remained a single company that could use its giant retail base of 4.5 million customers to harness clean-energy technology, and calling for the accelerated closures of its coal-fired power stations in line with global goals to avert catastrophic levels of climate change.