AGL board dealt historic defeat as investor revolt installs new directors

AGL, the nation’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, has been dealt another stunning defeat after its shareholders elected all four board candidates nominated by activist investor Mike Cannon-Brookes to bolster the power giant’s response to climate change and clean energy opportunities.

In a speech at the power and gas giant’s investor meeting on Tuesday, AGL chairman Patricia McKenzie confirmed all four of Cannon-Brookes’ nominees – former Energy Security board chair Kerry Schott, Swinburne University chancellor John Pollaers, CSR director Christine Holman and former Tesla Energy director Mark Twidell – had won election as independent directors despite the board endorsing only Twidell.

“The board welcomes these new directors to the board and will work constructively with them in the best of interests of shareholders,” McKenzie said.

AGL’s annual investor meeting follows months of intensifying pressure from shareholders over AGL’s response to climate change, the future of its coal-fired power stations and the make-up of its board of directors.

Cannon-Brookes’ privately owned Grok Ventures, which this year became AGL’s biggest shareholder, has insisted the board has been ill-equipped to steer the 185-year-old utilities giant away from coal towards potentially lucrative decarbonisation opportunities as more homes and businesses switch to 100 per cent electricity.

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Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of software company Atlassian and one of the nation’s richest people, attempted to buy AGL for $8 billion this year through a consortium with Canadian asset manager Brookfield. When that deal fell apart, he ran a successful shareholder campaign to prevent AGL’s planned demerger and has pressured the company to fast-track the closure of its coal-fired power stations.

His push ultimately forced the resignations of several AGL directors, including its chairman and chief executive. Grok then nominated four candidates for election as independent directors ahead of Tuesday’s investor meeting.

AGL’s refused to support all Grok’s candidates except Twidell, saying it did not believe the three other nominees would provide the “additional experience and skills necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the board’s strategy”. The board has also argued Grok was seeking too much board representation and has cast doubts over the candidates’ independence.