Mr Mark Johnson, Mr Michael Katz, Mr Philip Stern and Mr Jim Watt resigned as Directors of SFE Corporation Limited at a meeting of the Board yesterday, in order to assist the SFE Corporation revert to having a smaller Board in the lead up to its shares being listed on the ASX market.
SFE Chairman, Mr Rick Holliday-Smith said, "The contribution made by all four has been of immense benefit to SFE. It was always envisaged that having a Board with as many as 12 members would only be needed for a relatively short time. The decisions of Mark, Michael, Philip and Jim to step aside at this time is in keeping with the strong commitment to SFE that they have shown as Directors".
The SFE's Constitution provides for a maximum of 10 Directors, with scope for the company in general meetings to increase this limit. The limit was increased to 12 in December 2000 to enable additional directors to be appointed as part of the transaction in which SFE acquired the Austraclear clearing, settlement and depository business.
The SFE Board also appointed Mr Alan Cameron AM, the former Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, as Deputy Chairman. He succeeds Mr Will Wilson who has provided enormous support to SFE and who will continue as a Director. "I am pleased to have chaired a quality Board that has helped SFE to make significant progress over the past twelve months. Achievements include:
- Austraclear acquired and successfully integrated.
- Consolidation of debt product clearing completed.
- Expense reductions achieved.
- Sound profit growth achieved.
- Full review of capital, fees, rebates, margin payments and risk completed.
- Futures clearing moved to new OM SECUR technology platform.
Bond and Repo clearing system established and is operating satisfactorily. - International hubs established to facilitate greater access for international exchange users.
- Confirmation that The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will transfer its portfolio of Commonwealth Government Securities (CGS) from the RITS system to SFE Corporation's FINTRACS system and that the RBA will no longer provide clearing and settlement arrangements for CGS from February 2002.
Details of Continuing Directors
Rick Holliday-Smith, BA (Hons), Chairman
Mr Holliday-Smith is a specialist in capital markets, derivatives and venture capital activities. He is a director of Exco Resources NL, Servcorp Limited, MIA Group Limited and a number of private companies. Prior to 1998, Mr Holliday-Smith spent 11 years in Chicago, firstly as CEO of Chicago Research and Trading (CRT), and then as President of NationsBanc-CRT. During the 1980s, he was an executive director with Wardley Australia Limited and Managing Director of HongKongBank Limited, London.
Robert G Elstone, BA (Hons), MA (Econ), MCom, Managing Director and CEO
Mr Elstone's appointment as CEO of SFE in May 2000 was made after he had spent 10 years as Chief Financial Officer of two major Australasian companies, Pioneer International Limited and prior to that of Air New Zealand Limited. During the 1980s, Mr Elstone ran the Australian office of Paribas' international capital markets activities. Mr Elstone is a graduate of the universities of London, Manchester and Western Australia, and has completed the advanced management programs at both the Harvard and Stanford graduate schools of business. He is also a member of the Finance Committee of the Senate of the University of Sydney.
Alan J Cameron, AM, BA, LLM (Hons), Deputy Chairman
Mr Cameron was Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and its predecessor, the Australian Securities Commission, from January 1993 to November 2000. Prior to 1993, he held the position of Commonwealth Ombudsman and before that he was the National Executive Partner of Blake Dawson Waldron, solicitors. He is a consultant on regulatory matters.
Ken C Borda, BA, LLB, Master of Stock Exchange
Mr Borda is CEO of Deutsche Bank Australia and New Zealand, and is a member of the Asia Pacific board of Deutsche Bank. He was previously a partner with Bain and Company. Mr Borda is the Deputy Chairman of the International Banks and Securities Association of Australia (IBSA) and a director of the Australian Theatre for Young People.
Ian K Payne, Mecon
Mr Payne was executive director and deputy CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia until July 1997. He is Chairman of Export Finance and Insurance Corporation and Investa Property Group, and is a director of Legalco Limited.
Peter B St George, CA (SA), MBA
Mr St George was Co-CEO of Salomon Smith Barney Australia (SSB), a member of the Citigroup, between 1998 and 2001 and was CEO of NatWest Markets Australia from 1995 until its acquisition by SSB in 1998.
Peter H Warne, BA
Mr Warne is a former Executive Vice- President of Bankers Trust Australia Limited and acted as a consultant for Macquarie Bank Limited during 1999. He was previously a director of SFE from 1990 to 1999, (including a period as Deputy Chairman) and was Chairman of Sydney Futures Exchange Clearing House Pty Limited between 1991 and 1994.
William P Wilson, BEcon
Mr Wilson is currently Managing Director of Merrill Lynch (Australia) Futures Limited and is Head of the Securities Services Division for Australia, Japan and the Asia Pacific. He joined Merrill Lynch as Manager of Global Financial Futures and Options in 1994. Prior to that, he held various positions in the derivatives area of the ANZ Banking Group.
Details of Retiring Directors
Mark RG Johnson, LLB, MBA
Mr Johnson is Deputy Chairman of Macquarie Bank Limited, Co-Chairman of its Corporate Finance Group and Chairman of the Macquarie Infrastructure Group. He is also Chairman of the INSEAD Australian Council, Deputy Chairman of The Australian Gas Light Company and a director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.
Michael A Katz, BCom (Hons)
Mr Katz has been Head of Institutional Banking at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia since 1993. Prior to joining CBA, he spent seven years as Executive Director of Capital Markets with Morgan Stanley, first in Switzerland and later in Tokyo. Between 1981 and 1986, he was Vice-President of Citicorp in Geneva.
Philip W Stern, BSc (Hons), MBA (Distinction)
Mr Stern is a director of Port Jackson Partners Limited (PJPL), a management consulting firm specialising in issues of strategy and organisation. Prior to PJPL, he was a consultant with McKinsey & Company. He is also Treasurer of Cranbrook School and President of the Harvard Club of Australia.
Alan J Watt, BSc (Forestry), BA (Econ), M. Forestry (Resource Economics and Business Management)
Mr Watt was a director of Austraclear Limited between 1995 and 2000, and was Chairman in 1999 and 2000. Between 1988 and 1995, he was CEO of New South Wales Treasury Corporation, the NSW Government's central financing agency, and prior to that he held a number of policy analyst and management positions in agencies of the NSW Government.
