1. Home
  2. Business
  3. CBD

Investors join the Trump, Brexit rebellion

Colin Kruger, CBD

The world is going a little crazy, and we're not just talking about Brexit and Trump. 

We have now witnessed two shareholder meetings in two weeks where investors have voted more than 2:1 AGAINST the remuneration report. 

Up Next

Replay

Replay Video Icon
Player help icon

More News Videos

More videos

Obama and Trump's first White House meeting

US President Barack Obama hosts President-elect Donald Trump at the White House after a surprise victory by the Republican businessman.

To get over 50 per cent would normally have people reaching for the record books.

Mike Fitzpatrick's battering at the hands of his investors (84 per cent against) in boutique fund manager, Pacific Current Group, might just stand the test of time – just like the AFL chairman's back-to-back victories with Carlton. 

Cover-More CEO Mike Emmett
Cover-More CEO Mike Emmett Photo: Supplied

But insurer Cover-More certainly gave it a go last week with a 71 per cent vote against its remuneration report. 

Despite the golden age of travel that Flight Centre and Qantas have attested to, it was not a stellar year for the Louis (Wonderland) Carroll-chaired travel insurer. And investors appear to be particularly peeved at what they have paid for this result.

Advertisement

"I will be frank. FY16 was disappointing for our group," he said. And his investors obviously agreed.

We wonder if Cover-More investors are getting buyers remorse over the price their chairman paid for the new CEO, Mike Emmett.

Anthony Pratt and partner Claudine Revere.
Anthony Pratt and partner Claudine Revere. Photo: Supplied

As reported by CBD, the new recruit from QBE enjoyed a sizeable pay rise compared to his predecessor Peter Edwards.  

His $960,000 base pay represents a $210,000 increase on Edwards'. Add in the incentives and his remuneration could reach $2.6 million.

Anthony Pratt with Vice-President-elect Mike Pence.
Anthony Pratt with Vice-President-elect Mike Pence. Photo: Supplied Image

And this does not include the $810,000 sign-on bonus to compensate him for incentives forfeited when he left QBE.

Trump's billionaires

Donald Trump's election victory is sold – partly – as a victory for the working man in middle America, but the unexpected result is also being welcomed by one of Australia's wealthiest men, Anthony Pratt.

<p>

 

 "America has clearly embraced change and I congratulate Mr Trump and Governor Pence on their victory," he told Fairfax Media week. 

The billionaire has reason to be enthusiastic. 

Trump's Vice-President-elect, Mike Pence, is a big fan of Pratt's sizeable packaging business in the US, Pratt Industries. 

Pence opened the company's latest packaging plant in Indiana early this year. It represented Pratt's biggest bet on the US and is destined to prosper under a president who is determined to bring manufacturing back to US shores. 

"I applaud Pratt for investing in Indiana's future and creating quality jobs [in Indiana] for generations to come," Pence said at the time.

Pratt was one of the few predicting a Trump victory after noticing the level of discontent in the regions in which his business operates, but he was not necessarily a fan when Trump poked his head ahead of the pack in April this year.

He described it as the biggest political surprise of the 25 years he had spent in the US.  

"It has surprised me … his great political skills, just from a pure political perspective – just how unexpected it all has been," Pratt told The Australian. 

He was cautious when asked if the rise of Trump's style of politics should be of concern. 

"I am not a politician, I am a businessman. We just need to live within the framework we are presented with and deal with it. There are many talented people in the [presidential] race," he said.

That was April. Pence joined the campaign in July. 

But Pratt has an even stronger relationship with another Trump supporter, Rudy Giuliani. In the 1990s, the then New York mayor struck a deal with Pratt to build a recycling plant in the Big Apple.

Pratt claims to be the biggest Australian employer in the US with 6000 employees and plans to double his packaging empire's size in the US in the next seven years.

Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au

Advertisement