Hounsell relinquishes Dulux role
NEW Myer chairman Garry Hounsell has resigned as a director of paintmaker DuluxGroup as he makes room in his diary to focus on the turnaround of the struggling retailer.
Dulux announced yesterday that Mr Hounsell would step down at the end of the month, having been a director since the group was spun out of chemicals company Orica in 2010.
During his tenure, he chaired the board’s audit and risk committee and was part of its remuneration and human resources committee.
“I would like to thank Garry for his outstanding contribution as a board member over the past seven years,” said Dulux chairman Peter Kirby.
Elected chairman of Myer at the retailer’s annual meeting last month, Mr Hounsell succeeded Paul McClintock.
Mr Hounsell was forced into a fight to maintain his directorship of Myer after shareholder and billionaire retail magnate Solomon Lew used his 10.8 per cent stake in the group to vote against all resolutions at its annual meeting.
His departure from Dulux will free up time in his week as he works with the rest of the Myer board to oversee the implementation of the “New Myer” turnaround strategy.
Under the plan, Myer is trying to resuscitate sales and earnings following decades of flatlining returns. It is twoyears into the five-year program.