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An independent review into the board of Wise Tech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) has found that co-founder Richard White provided ‘inaccurate and incomplete disclosures’ about the nature and duration of his relationship with an employee of the company.
On Wednesday, Wise Tech released the partial review, in which it was noted – in point 4A of the appendix – that Mr White’s disclosures to the board about the nature of this relationship were ‘not fully transparent’, and misleading in terms of matters connected to the end of the relationship.
A later point noted that the employee had launched a complaint of unlawful discrimination against White and Wise Tech, but that this was not substantiated by the evidence available, which had included renumeration records, correspondence, interviews with other employees, and comparison of renumeration to this employee and others at Wise Tech in similar positions.
A further complaint that the employee – dubbed ‘Person A’ – that they had been required to work unreasonable and excessive hours, was likewise found to be unsubstantiated.
The employee in question did not participate in the board review, and was not interviewed.
Alongside this were findings related to a Person B – who is associated with a supplier to Wise Tech. Here, the review found that White had failed to inform the board in a timely manner of his knowledge of a dispute raised with him by Person B connected to the supplier arrangement.
He also failed to disclose complete information about his personal relationship with Person B, and it was noted that a commercial relationship had been entered into by White and Person B, even though ‘there were undisclosed conflicts of interest between the interests of WTC and the private interests of Mr White’.
The review was announced on 24 October 2024, when Herbert Smith Freehills and Seyfarth Shaw LLP were appointed to advise the Board on allegations appearing in the media in relation to the company and its co-founder Richard White, who had stepped down as chief executive that day.
Mr White – who remains Executive Chair of the company – was allowed to respond to the findings, and said that ‘while those matters were personal in nature, with the benefit of
hindsight he would have more fulsomely disclosed them to the Board and handled the
contracting process differently’.
He accepted the findings, and said he supported a new and more stringent Code of Conduct connected to the matters considered.
In terms of the Board’s response to these findings, they highlighted a review to the ‘aforementioned Code of Conduct, and the plan to appoint an additional independent director as a matter of priority which will allow the Company to comply with its obligations under the ASX Listing Rules.
Mr White’s role in the company was underscored by comments in the Board statement about the ‘exceptional knowledge and value’ that he brings to ‘strategy, product, customers and shareholders’. Thus, it appears he will remain in-play at Wise Tech, with no serious action taken against him.
Wise Tech shares rose after the news, and at 11:08 AEDT, they were trading at $84.92 – an increase of 0.15% since the market opened.
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