Whitewashed: Australian Super offloads stake in WiseTech in wake of founder and board turmoil

Australian Super has sold holding in logistics software giant WiseTech Global in recent weeks as founder Richard White returned to the business as chairman.

The superannuation fund had more than 2.2% of WiseTech (ASX: WTC) shares and had backed the business since its 2016 float. But governance concerns amid board resignations and White’s elevation to chair led the fund to pull the pin.

That holding was worth around $700 million before all hell broke loose in October last year amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour against White, then CEO before he resigned.

In February, WiseTech confirmed that White was subject to more two confidential complaints, about inappropriate behaviour. Less than a fortnight later, four WiseTech Global directors, including the chair, resigned and the company’s share price fell 21%.

Within 48 hours, White returned to the company he founded 30 years ago as executive chairman.

Last week, an ongoing board review into White’s behaviour, found that he “made inaccurate and incomplete disclosures concerning the nature and duration of his relationship” involving two employees, but the now chair, who owns around a third of the business, has pledged to do better.

AusSuper had sold some of its holding since the drama began and by February, had reduced its stake to 1.9%, worth around $580 million, depending on the company’s volatile share price amid ongoing revelations. The final straw in the serialised corporate soap opera appears to be the resignation of the four independent directors.

White himself had been busy selling down, offloading $440 million worth of shares in late 2024, and $200 million more this year, while also buying out his cofounder, Maree Isaacs,  in RealWise Holdings, the company that owns more than a third of WiseTech.

Meanwhile, the super fund headed to the exit too.

AustralianSuper’s Head of Australian Equities, Shaun Manuell, the fund sold “because recent developments have not met our expectations”, leaving the door open to reinvest “should circumstances change”.

“We have been a shareholder and strong supporter of the business since its IPO in 2016, and it has created a significant amount of value for AustralianSuper members,” he said.

“We believe good governance is essential to delivering the value we identify in a company. As a long-term active manager, our role is to allocate members’ retirement savings to the companies we think are most likely to create value over the years to come.

“We needed to see a sensible transition plan that got the balance right between governance and managing the founder’s role over time in order to continue to remain a shareholder.”