Nick Traber will be acting chief executive of NZX and ASX listed Fletcher Building from March 29. Photo / Fletcher Building
Nick Traber will be acting chief executive of NZX and ASX listed Fletcher Building from March 29. Photo / Fletcher Building
Fletcher Building chief executive Ross Taylor is being replaced much earlier than some investors expected.
The business today said Nick Traber would take over as acting CEO from the end of this month although Taylor would support him until August.
Taylor has a six-month notice period, according to last month’sresignation announcement. If he served those full six months, he would not go till August although no exact date had been named when he quit.
But today Fletcher said Traber would be acting CEO from March 29.
That allowed for a much faster exit of Taylor than had been previously indicated, which has surprised some in the market today and has not been greeted with delight by some shareholders.
Traber has been the concrete division’s chief executive since January 2021, the company said.
Last month Taylor and chairman Bruce Hassall both quit.
Today’s announcement said: “As part of the previously announced CEO renewal process, Fletcher Building today announced that the board has appointed Nick Traber as acting CEO of the company, replacing Ross Taylor, effective from 29 March 2024 for an interim period until a permanent CEO is appointed.
“To ensure an orderly transition, Mr Taylor will remain available to support Mr Traber and the business as required until 23 August 2024.”
Fletcher Building CEO Ross Taylor. Photo / Michael Craig
On February 14, the company said: “Taylor has a six-month notice period, which he will serve in full if required, to facilitate an orderly handover to his successor.”
Today, Taylor said he was pleased to see Traber coming in.
If he had served his full six months, Taylor would not have been due to leave till August.
Hassall was originally due to leave after the October annual meeting but stepped down with immediate effect on March 4.
Last month, Taylor blamed one single project: SkyCity Entertainment Group’s disastrous New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) where Fletcher Construction has lost hundreds of millions of dollars - $165 million announced in February.
Fletcher said today Thornton Williams would become CEO of the concrete division.
Meanwhile, the hunt for a permanent CEO continues.
“The board is working with Johnson Partners to assist with this process, and discussions are continuing with potential external candidates. The renewal process will bring new skills and perspectives to the board, to assist with the options available for the election of a new chair. The board is committed to finalising the board renewal process as soon as possible,” the company said today.
Director Doug McKay is resigning from June 30.
Rob McDonald will not stand for re-election at the October AGM.
Fletcher is nearing the end of building the NZ International Convention Centre for SkyCity Entertainment Group. That company’s new Horizon Hotel was also nearing completion, while Fletcher has this month also entered mediation over the leaky pipe issue in Perth.
Suhir Kissun, equity analyst with 13 per cent and majority shareholder Allan Gray in Sydney, welcomed Traber’s appointment.
“Allan Gray commends these developments and the accountability they demonstrate. We wish Nick success in his new role and the board in their efforts to attract suitable candidates. They both have our full support,” Kissun said.
Rohan Koreman-Smith, a Forsyth Barr analyst, said the company had indicated Traber was “probably the leading candidate to become CEO so far.
“He has proven himself competent in the concrete division, with good experience offshore. The question is with them still searching for a CEO, what is the board looking for that they don’t already have in Nick?”
The directors who were leaving were competent but Fletcher was in a state of great change currently, he said.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
