ASA calls for ASX chairman to step down within a year

afr.com:

Pressure is building on ASX chairman Damian Roche to provide a timeline for his exit from the embattled exchange, as two shareholder advisory groups say they will only provide qualified support for his re-election to the board at its annual meeting on Thursday.

The Australian Shareholders’ Association wants Mr Roche to make a commitment at the meeting to have a new chairman in place within 12 months. It says the ASX lacks a satisfactory succession plan.

The ASA and ISS are only providing qualified support for the re-election of ASX chairman Damian Roche on Thursday. Alex Ellinghausen

“Only if this undertaking is forthcoming will we vote for [his re-election],” it said. Mr Roche, who joined the ASX board in 2014, is expected to address the demand at the meeting. If re-elected, it would be for a three-year term.

In his cover letter attached to the notice of meeting, Mr Roche said it would be the last time he stands for re-election, citing ASX’s tenure guidelines. “If re-elected, I am committed to ensuring a smooth and successful transition to a new chair during my last term,” he said.

ASX directors are facing a possible second strike over its remuneration report, which would trigger a separate vote to spill the whole board, as the fallout from the disastrous CHESS replacement project continues to reverberate.

Institutional Shareholder Services and the ASA have both called for shareholders to vote down the remuneration report. But it is supported by two other proxy advisers, Ownership Matters and CGI Glass Lewis. This makes a 25 per cent vote against the report required to trigger a spill vote unlikely. (Both ISS and ASA are against spilling the board, saying this would be too big a disruption for the ASX.)

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