Blackmores CEO, Christine Holgate, will replace the outgoing Ahmed Fahour to run the national postal service from August.
She will have been with Blackmores nine years during which time she oversaw the share price leap from $20 to a highpoint of $221 in January 2016.
Blackmores boss Christine Holgate to be new Australia Post boss. https://t.co/vbG17yTkkS
— Business Review (@aus_business) June 26, 2017
At Australia Post Holgate will receive a base salary of $1.375 million a year which can double if she hits performance targets, to hit $2.75 million.
It is, undoubtedly, an eye-watering package for the British-born executive. It is enough to make non-executive mortals double-take.
But it is substantially less than her predecessor earned.
It is less than half of the $5.6 million Ahmed Fahour took home last year and less than half of the $6 million exit package he is reportedly set to pocket as he leaves the post.
To be fair his exorbitant salary, which made him the highest paid public servant in the land, was a serious point of contention. It made headlines last year and appears to have contributed, at least in some part, to Fahour’s exit.
In that regard the fact the new Australia Post CEO is on a smaller package is hardly surprising.
Woman replaces man as CEO, salary drops from $5.6m to $2.7m @australiapost appoints Christine Holgate CEO. https://t.co/O70VD1LHsj
— Mary-Anne Toy (@mtoy88) June 27, 2017
The fact the gap is so stark is surprising .
The fact Fahour was offered such an excessive salary in the first place – his pay was seriously out of step with comparable positions – is also curious.
His salary was 10 times more than the $507,338 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s.
It seems curious that the CEO to step in afterwards for far less money is a woman.
Is it merely a coincidence? When you consider the pay gap it’s hard to swallow.
When you consider findings like the fact female executives earn $93,000 a year less than their male peers it’s hard to write off as merely the luck of the draw.
So proud of Blackmores' own Christine Holgate who will be the first woman to lead @auspost in their 208 year history.
— Blackmores (@Blackmores) June 27, 2017
It isn’t an issue for Holgate: remuneration isn’t the reason she gets out of bed each day.
“It’s never been a motivator for me in any job,” she told News Limited’s Business Daily.
That certainly appears to be true: the fact she’s taken the job is proof of it. She is drawn to the opportunity to contribute to society by leading “an organisation that touches all 23 million Australians”.
The fact Holgate isn’t personally deterred by the pay discrepancy doesn’t render it equitable.
She is a talented senior executive with a proven ability to drive success. The fact her ego obviously isn’t bolstered by pay only accentuates her personal integrity.
But the fact her predecessor can walk out the door with the equivalent of four (and a bit) years of her entire annual salary is hard to take.
It is living proof of the pay gap in action. She is doing exactly the same job for a quarter of the salary.