Shearwater Capital founding partners to retire from WiseTech board

Two Shearwater Capital founding partners are set to exit the board of WiseTech (ASX: WTC), including one who only joined in February to lead a board review, and another who was a longstanding chairman and in December sold just enough stock to no longer be considered a substantial holder in the logistics software company.

Shearwater's Mike Gregg became a director on 26 February following the abrupt resignations of four directors over "intractable differences" and differing views over the ongoing role of founder and then-CEO Richard White, who had been subject to complaints.

An investigation into the confidential complaints cleared White of several allegations of improper conduct, including a failure to disclose close personal relationships to the board and involvement in related-party deals not considered to be at arm’s length.

White was thus reinstated as executive chairman, but reprimanded by a board sub-committee that his conduct was "not acceptable and must not be repeated".

The sub-committee comprised Gregg, another WiseTech co-founder Maree Isaacs, and Shearwater's Charles Gibbon, who has been a shareholder in the group since 2005 and was its chair for more than a decade from 2006 to 2018, including during its initial public offering (IPO) in 2016.

Their review also identified a need to make the board composition more independent, and steps were made in this direction at the end of March with the appointment of former UPS exec Chris Charlton and former investment banker Andrew Harrison.

The group has continued on that track with its announcement today that from 1 July the board will welcome former media industry executive Sandra Hook GAICD and ServiceRocket founder and CEO Rob Castaneda.

As part of the board renewal program, Gibbon has put in his resignation with plans to retire as a non-executive director on 30 June, while Gregg intends to retire as a non-executive director prior to the group's annual general meeting (AGM) in November.

Gibbon has played in integral role in WiseTech's growth story as, even amidst recent share price volatility, its valuation has soared.

Having previously held 5.47 per cent of shares in WiseTech, in December Gibbon sold more than 1.7 million units - just enough to put him below the 5 per cent threshold to be considered a substantial holder in the company which today has a market capitalisation of approximately $36 billion.

WiseTech's last annual report also noted the Gregg family had a 1.41 per cent share in the group.

Gibbon and Gregg are also leading shareholders in the digital media outlet Capital Brief, which in 2023 acquired daily news summary newsletter Letter of Intent for an undisclosed sum to drive further traffic to its stories.

Independent publishers once featured prominently and regularly on the platform, but its news curation this year has shifted much more heavily towards its owner and legacy media industry incumbents. 

The portfolio of the pair's venture capital group Shearwater Capital also includes prominent startups such as Amber, Lyka, Sitemate and ClearCalcs, among others.