Berczelly stated in her affidavit that the sudden and unexpected ASX announcement was made without prior notice, and she believed it was “an act of victimisation taken to scare me for making my reports”.
It was certainly tone-setting for the battle that has stretched across six months and has sparked the interest of ASIC, the corporate regulator.
This is a tale that at its heart may prosecute the potential trade-off between profits and corporate behaviour.
Super Retail says it has already conducted a review and investigation into the allegations by Berczelly and her co-accuser Rebecca Farrell and found nothing untoward.
But it highlights a dilemma of what to do when a successful chief executive’s reputation has been placed under a cloud by allegations by staff. It goes to the heart of the company’s corporate governance.
Clearly, the board is standing by Heraghty and has stated it will defend the claims against the company.
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There has not been a peep from shareholders, the largest of which (with almost 30 per cent) is company founder Reg Rowe. He can’t be enjoying the adverse publicity surrounding the case, but must be happy about his newly minted billionaire status on the back of the company’s shares rising 42 per cent over the past year.
But at what point does the company’s success get overshadowed by the ugly optics of this battle?
Berczelly’s affidavit says she made two whistleblower complaints in February to Super Retail directors Howard Mowlem, Annabelle Chaplain, Judith Swales, Peter Everingham, Penny Winn and Mark O’Hare, and Super Retail’s external auditor, PwC. In late April, Berczelly and Farrell also made a joint whistleblower report.
In May, Berczelly filed her case with the Fair Work Commission against Super Retail, Heraghty, outgoing chairwoman Sally Pitkin and acting chief legal officer Inga Kirkman.
Berczelly is also supporting Farrell’s Federal Court case, which is due to be heard in December, relating to her alleged settlement agreement.
So the fireworks are a long way from over.
It’s one worth marking in your calendar.
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