'Doesn't worry me': PolyNovo chairman David Williams hits back at 'woke' investing by super funds
The chairman of a major Australian healthcare business has hit back at super funds which choose to invest in companies they deem 'PC enough'.
Watch the full interview with the chairman of a major Australian company on Business Weekend at 11am (AEST).
David Williams, the chairman of $1.03b skin grafting company PolyNovo, has reportedly said he makes no apologies for his 'aggressive' management style and that he is 'determined to grow business' despite this possibly 'challenging some people with various woke views'.
Mr Williams courted controversy earlier this year after PolyNovo's CEO Swami Raote exited in March.
The former chief executive left after failing to reach an agreement with PolyNovo's board about issues regarding 'certain interactions' between Mr Williams and members of management.
Mr Williams joined Sky News' Business Weekend where Ross Greenwood asked whether the chairman was troubled by 'industry super funds that have got watchlists on companies it deems 'PC enough' for them to invest in'.
'No, it doesn't worry me whatsoever,' Mr Williams said.
'We got a bit of bad publicity for it, but I can tell you, and some of this is public, some of the biggest institutions in the world have come in on the back of that.
'Fidelity, for example, put a notice out that they'd gone to 9.1 per cent.
'While some people might be offended (over) political correctness and choose to go with their feet, there are plenty of people in the US and in Europe who are buying our stock and then publicly announcing it.'
Mr Williams told the Australian Financial Review, after Mr Raote exited the company, the election of United States President Donald Trump had sparked a change in corporate culture.
'There has been a sea change, as a lot of executives will tell you, just since Trump came in,' he said.
'You are seeing people back to the office, forget about diversity. Trump has emboldened a lot of people, but you have got to watch your Ps and Qs.'
The comments come as some industry super funds recently revealed divestments from the ASX's largest tech company WiseTech over its founder Richard White's allegedly inappropriate behaviour.
AustralianSuper slowly sold its $580m stake in the company earlier in the year, while HESTA last week revealed WiseTech had been added to its 'watchlist' over governance concerns.
'We believe developments in recent months call into question the company's ability to make the necessary changes to restore investor confidence,' the fund said in a statement.
'Our concerns relate to the conduct and actions of the Executive Chair, the lack of independence of the WiseTech Board, and uncertainty regarding company leadership and succession, as well as news of ASIC's preliminary enquiries.'
Aware Super, which owns more than one per cent of WiseTech, also revealed it is watching the company's governance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
14 minutes ago
- West Australian
Amazon mega deal underscores economic relationship with US, minister says
Amazon's $20bn investment into Australian data centre infrastructure underscores the economic relationship with the US ahead of Anthony Albanese's first face-to-face with Donald Trump, Labor's industry tsar says. The Prime Minister announced the mega deal with Amazon at the tech giant's headquarters in Seattle overnight. Speaking to media, Mr Albanese also said he and the US President had 'scheduled' a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 in Canada after Mr Trump confirmed he would attend the summit. Pressure has been mounting on Mr Albanese to secure a carve out from sweeping US tariffs and shore up Washington's support for AUKUS after the Trump administration launched a review of the $368bn defence pact. Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres said on Sunday the deal was 'not designed' to send a message to Mr Trump but that 'it certainly does underscore the depth of the economic and strategic and technological relationship' with the US. 'It's not just about trading in goods and services,' Senator Ayres told Sky News. 'It's about collaboration around science and research and development and in industrial terms.' He singled out AUKUS as 'offering opportunities for Australian and United States firms … to invest in each other's economy', highlighting it as 'a real counterpoint to the position that the United States has adopted around tariff announcements'. 'They are not the act of a friend, as has been said repeatedly by me and my colleagues,' Senator Ayres said. 'They are not in Australia's interest, but they're not in the United States' interest either. 'Australian steel, for example, exported to the United States, feeds into American supply chains and supports competitive industry that provides good jobs for American workers. 'Why on Earth would anybody want to make Australian steel in the United States more expensive? 'That's what the tariff measures do.' He said Mr Albanese would be putting that 'position directly to the President of the United States' when they meet next week. 'But the Amazon announcement does underscore how vital the direct economic relationship really is,' Senator Ayres said. At his Seattle press conference announcing the deal, Mr Albanese said he would raise tariffs and AUKUS with Mr Trump. Though he stopped short of saying the Amazon announcement was a message to the US leader. 'The US (Free Trade Agreement) has been important,' Mr Albanese told reporters. 'It's enjoyed bipartisan support in Australia and indeed in the United States. 'And so we welcome very much American investment in Australia.' He added it was 'important to recognise as well that the United States has a two for one surplus when it comes to the trading relationship in not just in goods, but in services as well'. 'And we want to grow the economic relationship between our two countries,' Mr Albanese said. 'And I'm sure that when I have the opportunity to have discussions with President Trump, we will speak about the important economic relationship between our two countries, which is in the interests of both Australia and the United States.' Under the deal, Amazon has committed to pumping cash into developing data centres in Melbourne and Sydney over the next five years, focusing on storage, networking, analytics, and secure services supporting cloud and AI. The firm will build renewable energy sources to support its operations. Speaking alongside Mr Albanese, Amazon Web Services chief executive Matt Garman dismissed concerns Australia's grid lacked the power needed for AI. 'I think definitely the explosion of AI requires a lot of power, so that's one of the things we're thinking about,' Mr Garman told reporters. 'I think here in the United States, we see nuclear as part of that portfolio. 'Our investments in Australia are wind and solar, but I think depending on the local setup and economies and other things, it's a global question, but there's no question that we will continue to need more and more power going forward.'
Perth Now
17 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Albo's $20bn boon ahead of Trump meet
Amazon's $20bn investment into Australian data centre infrastructure underscores the economic relationship with the US ahead of Anthony Albanese's first face-to-face with Donald Trump, Labor's industry tsar says. The Prime Minister announced the mega deal with Amazon at the tech giant's headquarters in Seattle overnight. Speaking to media, Mr Albanese also said he and the US President had 'scheduled' a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 in Canada after Mr Trump confirmed he would attend the summit. Pressure has been mounting on Mr Albanese to secure a carve out from sweeping US tariffs and shore up Washington's support for AUKUS after the Trump administration launched a review of the $368bn defence pact. Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres said on Sunday the deal was 'not designed' to send a message to Mr Trump but that 'it certainly does underscore the depth of the economic and strategic and technological relationship' with the US. Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres says Amazon's $20bn investment underscores Australia's economic relationship with the US. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'It's not just about trading in goods and services,' Senator Ayres told Sky News. 'It's about collaboration around science and research and development and in industrial terms.' He singled out AUKUS as 'offering opportunities for Australian and United States firms … to invest in each other's economy', highlighting it as 'a real counterpoint to the position that the United States has adopted around tariff announcements'. 'They are not the act of a friend, as has been said repeatedly by me and my colleagues,' Senator Ayres said. 'They are not in Australia's interest, but they're not in the United States' interest either. 'Australian steel, for example, exported to the United States, feeds into American supply chains and supports competitive industry that provides good jobs for American workers. 'Why on Earth would anybody want to make Australian steel in the United States more expensive? 'That's what the tariff measures do.' He said Mr Albanese would be putting that 'position directly to the President of the United States' when they meet next week. 'But the Amazon announcement does underscore how vital the direct economic relationship really is,' Senator Ayres said. At his Seattle press conference announcing the deal, Mr Albanese said he would raise tariffs and AUKUS with Mr Trump. Though he stopped short of saying the Amazon announcement was a message to the US leader. 'The US (Free Trade Agreement) has been important,' Mr Albanese told reporters. 'It's enjoyed bipartisan support in Australia and indeed in the United States. 'And so we welcome very much American investment in Australia.' He added it was 'important to recognise as well that the United States has a two for one surplus when it comes to the trading relationship in not just in goods, but in services as well'. 'And we want to grow the economic relationship between our two countries,' Mr Albanese said. 'And I'm sure that when I have the opportunity to have discussions with President Trump, we will speak about the important economic relationship between our two countries, which is in the interests of both Australia and the United States.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) and Amazon Web Services chief executive Matt Garman (right) announced the data centre investment. NewsWire / PMO Credit: News Corp Australia Under the deal, Amazon has committed to pumping cash into developing data centres in Melbourne and Sydney over the next five years, focusing on storage, networking, analytics, and secure services supporting cloud and AI. The firm will build renewable energy sources to support its operations. Speaking alongside Mr Albanese, Amazon Web Services chief executive Matt Garman dismissed concerns Australia's grid lacked the power needed for AI. 'I think definitely the explosion of AI requires a lot of power, so that's one of the things we're thinking about,' Mr Garman told reporters. 'I think here in the United States, we see nuclear as part of that portfolio. 'Our investments in Australia are wind and solar, but I think depending on the local setup and economies and other things, it's a global question, but there's no question that we will continue to need more and more power going forward.'
Sky News AU
22 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Middle East conflict, Ukraine-Russia war: What Donald Trump discussed with Vladimir Putin during 'birthday' call
Donald Trump says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin both agree the war between Israel and Iran "should end" amid rising tensions in the Middle East. President Trump has confirmed the Russian leader called him on Saturday to wish him a happy 79th birthday, with the phone chat lasting about one hour. The president said during the phone call he and Putin discussed various issues, including the escalating conflict in the Middle East as well as the Ukraine-Russia war. "President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a happy birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well," President Trump wrote via Truth Social. "We talked at length. Much less time was spent talking about Russia (and) Ukraine, but that will be for next week. "He is doing the planned prisoner swaps - large numbers of prisoners are being exchanged, immediately, from both sides. "The call lasted approximately one hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end." The phone call comes as Iran and Israel exchange rocket fire on the weekend. Kremlin spokesperson Yuri Ushakov said Putin condemned the Israeli military operation against Iran and "expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict". Before Israel's attack on Iran, the White House were in the midst of negotiations to seal a nuclear deal with Tehran. President Trump looked at negotiating a fresh new deal on his terms after his first-term administration pulled out of Obama's backed Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. A planned meeting between the US and Iran was supposed to go ahead on Sunday in Muscat, Oman. The talks have now been stalled following Israel's attack. Meanwhile, Mr Trump has tried to get peace talks rolling on another front with Mr Putin to end the war in Ukraine. After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the ongoing war has no signs of stopping, with an escalation of attacks continuing. In May, a meeting was planned for discussions between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey. However, Mr Putin refused to show up, leading to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
