Board reshuffle at Ayers Rock
The head of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, Koos Klein, who has been running a $400 million suite of indigenous tourism assets on behalf of the owners, the Indigenous Land Corporation, has resigned.
The five-complex Ayers Rock Resort, in the shadow of Uluru, had just one indigenous staff member when it was bought by the ILC in 2010. It has since been transformed into a showcase for indigenous employment, with 221 Aboriginal staff on its books.
The chairwoman of the ILC, Dawn Casey has enforced sweeping changes to the high-powered board, with the exit of Investec Bank chairman Richard Longes; international property executive Peter Barge; former Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon; and former chief executive of Indigenous Business Australia Ronald Morony.
Dr Casey said she had corporate-governance concerns about the purchase of the Ayers Rock Resort and said it was time to “refresh” the Voyages board, although many of the directors had no involvement in the ILC’s 2010 decision to buy the resort.
In a press release announcing the changes, Dr Casey linked the board changes to “a significant write-down of $62 million, or 20%, in the value of the Ayer’s Rock Resort”.
Voyages chairman David Baffsky said the removal of the board was “bizarre, perplexing, and sad”. Mr Baffsky, whose tenure automatically ceased last month, said, “Dressing up the board sacking by saying the Ayers Rock facility is not profitable is absolutely not true.”
A new chair and five new directors have been appointed to the board by the Indigenous Land Corporation.
Former Goldman Sachs (Australia) general counsel Lisa Gay has been appointed Voyages chairwoman. George Bedwani, the chief operating officer of Transmetro, joins the board.
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