ASX board narrowly avoids second strike, chair re-elected for last term
ASX’s board of directors has narrowly avoided a second strike at its annual meeting on Thursday, with 21 per cent of shareholders voting against the remuneration report in a strong protest vote as the exchange struggles to restore trust after it announced it had bungled the CHESS replacement project 11 months ago.
The vote just missed the 25 per cent threshold required to trigger a spill vote for the whole board. Last year, ASX received a first strike on its remuneration report when around 30 per cent of shareholders voted against it.
ASX chairman Damian Roche at the annual general meeting at the ASX on Thursday morning. Six per cent of shareholders were against his re-election to the board. Dominic Lorrimer
Since the CHESS project was written off, ASX chairman Damian Roche recognised “confidence in ASX has been tested, and we acknowledge we must now demonstrate that the changes we are undertaking will help restore that confidence”.
Mr Roche also received a protest vote against his reelection to the board, with 6 per cent of shareholders against it.
In introductory remarks, he repeated a commitment made in the notice of meeting that he will retire within the next three years if elected.
This would occur under the ASX’s normal tenure guidelines, pushing back on a call from the Australian Shareholders’ Association ahead of the meeting for him to exit within a year.
Mr Roche, who has been an ASX director since August 2014, said as chairman he has been focused on board renewal. Since March 2022, four out of eight non-executive directors had been replaced, to bolster project management and technology expertise. The new directors are Dave Curran, Heather Smith, Vicki Carter and Luke Randell.
Now, Mr Roche said he wanted to
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