Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott’s decision to move with his senior corporate executives from Perth to the Eastern states is akin to Prince Harry moving his family out of the UK, writes Elizabeth Knight | ausbiz WA Wesfarmers | OPINION
Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott’s decision to move with his senior corporate executives from Perth to the Eastern states is akin to Prince Harry moving his family out of the UK.
“The inability to travel and lack of clarity around the borders are now having serious impacts on our team and growth plans for the future. While Wesfarmers is a WA-based company, most of our leadership team, and over 85 per cent of our broader team and operations are outside of WA,” Scott says.Scott’s decision has received plenty of attention but hasn’t opened the floodgates for senior executives of other West Australian companies to follow.
This has more to do with tradition than anything else. In practical terms the most senior executives inside Wesfarmers should have relocated to Melbourne or Sydney years ago. Rio Tinto is a case in point. This company’s largest asset base is West Australia but the centre of its governance is London. In many respects it suits these companies to keep the borders closed to minimise the risk of the pandemic reaching their remote mine sites. But they have all suffered from a shortage of the skilled workers needed to develop their operations.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'COVID taught us resilience': How Australia's longest-running ballet company conquered lockdownsAs the pandemic shut down most arts organisations, WA Ballet managed to pivot around lockdowns to emerge stronger than before – but the state's border closure comes with its challenges.
Read more »
How mighty will Amazon be after the pandemic?This week’s results may presage a future of choosier shoppers, resurgent competitors and tougher regulation
Read more »
Women three times more likely to be abused if in pandemic-induced financial stressAustralian researchers find ‘clear evidence’ linking economic stressors to onset and escalation of abuse by partners
Read more »
Here's how I plan to stop the pandemic from ruining my Lunar New Year celebrationsI live in Australia but my parents and extended family live in Inner Mongolia. This Lunar New Year I'm determined not to let the pandemic again ruin the two most important parts of our celebrations: family reunion and good food.
Read more »
Treasurer Frydenberg claims underdog status as Coalition falls in NewspollJosh Frydenberg has said there is a “message” in the Coalition’s latest fall in the polls as the Treasurer positioned the government as the underdog ahead of the next election.
Read more »