Board backs Henry to keep his ASX job

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 themercury.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS 1300 696 397 KEN Henry has been re-elected as an Australian Securities Exchange director despite the reputational hammering he received at the financial services royal commission as National Australia Bank chair.

At ASX Limited’s annual meeting yesterday, more than one in every six votes were cast against the re-election of Dr Henry as a non-executive director. But his position with the share market operator is now secure until 2022.

The strong 17 per cent “no” vote against Dr Henry, who has been an ASX Limited director since 2013, came despite the unanimous view of the board that he should stay, as well as an endorsement from chair Rick Holliday-Smith at the meeting.

The Australian Shareholders’ Association had opposed Dr Henry’s re-election after he was heavily criticised in the final report from the royal commission over his leadership at NAB. But Mr Holliday-Smith said the board believed shareholders recognised the difference between Dr Henry’s roles at NAB and ASX Limited.

“It is important to note that the matters raised in the royal commission did not relate to ASX or Ken’s role as an ASX director,” Mr Holliday-Smith said. “Nevertheless, the process did raise issues that were openly and carefully considered by the rest of the ASX board in determining its support for Ken.”

Dr Henry, he said, was a “very effective and conscientious” ASX director, who brought valuable expertise to the business, especially relating to public policy.

This enabled him to understand the thought processes that could influence thinking about the ASX, and his previous role as secretary of the federal Treasury was ideal for assessing systemic risks and their implications for the exchange, Mr Holliday-Smith said.