WiseTech's new CEO on recovering from scandal

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WiseTech Global is one of Australia's great technology success stories, running the operating system for global trade called CargoWise. But lately, it's been enveloped in crisis with grave accusations against its founder and former CEO and chairman Richard White. The share price collapsed partly as a result of that, but also partly because of the concerns about the impact of AI.
A new CEO was appointed named Zubin Appoo, who was a veteran of the company who left for a while and then came back. So what's he doing to keep the company focused on its business? What is the impact of AI? Here's Zubin Appoo, CEO of WiseTech Global.
Zubin Appoo, thanks for joining us on That's Business.

**Zubin Appoo** (1:32)
Great to be here, Alan. Thanks for having me.

**Alan Kohler** (1:34)
Well, Zubin, perhaps we can just start by explaining what WiseTech Global does. What's the product?

**Zubin Appoo** (1:40)
Sure. So WiseTech has been around for about 30 years, 32 years actually. We're a homegrown Australian company listed on the ASX for the last 10 years.
We essentially use technology to build solutions for logistics and transport. Then through a very large acquisition we completed about 12 months ago, a company called e2open. We've extended that reach into global trade and supply chain. So our customers are the largest freight forwarders, customs brokers, importers, exporters, retailers in the world. Ultimately, what our software does is two things. It delivers automation and efficiency for our customers, and it manages the increasing risk and compliance regulatory requirements of the supply chain.

**Alan Kohler** (2:23)
It was started by Richard White and Marie Isaacs in 1994

**Zubin Appoo** (2:27)
It was 1994, yes.

**Alan Kohler** (2:29)
Did Richard White actually write the code?

**Zubin Appoo** (2:31)
Yes, Richard was directly involved in writing the code. I think he wrote the original code for one of our earlier products.
Richard, as Chief Innovation Officer, which is his title right now, he is still deeply involved in technology and innovation. Many of the new incubations and innovations that we're building for the future.

**Alan Kohler** (2:51)
Now, in the past 12 months or so, WiseTech has become a bit of a business school case study for how to handle a crisis and a scandal involving the founder of a company, of a founder-led company in fact. There have been three separate allegations which we probably should just go through and investigations. ASIC is investigating improper share trading during a blackout period. ACCC is looking into whether the acquisition of E2 Open as you talked about was in breach. I think there's been an agreement to divest part of it.
I guess the most serious allegations investigation is the AFP into human trafficking complaint. Now, Richard White has emphatically and unequivocally denied any wrongdoing at all, although he has stepped down as both CEO and Chairman, which is why you're CEO now. Firstly, do you have any comment on any of those things?

**Zubin Appoo** (3:51)
Look, what I can comment on Alan is that I've known Richard since 2004 when I first joined WiseTech. I spent 15 years at the business. I left for seven years to do some other interesting things, and I've been back in the business for the last 16 or 17 months. I have immense respect for Richard. The work that he does for Australian technology industry, the work that he does inside WiseTech, and the way he and I collaborate on growing WiseTech with the broader leadership team, is quite extraordinary. I won't obviously comment on his personal life. That's not what I'm here for. I will say that the ASIC investigation is obviously ongoing, but it relates to four individuals. It doesn't relate to WiseTech as a business.
The ACCC investigation is still very early days, so there's really nothing I can comment on there other than saying, we're obviously cooperating with the ACCC, and we put out an ASX announcement last week with our position there. You are right in that some months ago, ACCC asked us to divest a very small part of E2 Open, a business called Expedient, where there was a small overlap with what we do in WiseTech.
Expedient was never the motivation for us acquiring E2 Open. E2 Open wasn't and isn't a competitor. It really extends our TAM. We operate in logistics and transport. E2 Open operates at the ends of the supply chain, which is buyers, suppliers, retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers. Expedient, though, a tiny part of E2 Open did operate in the logistics space. So we complied with that. We executed that divestment some months ago, and we were very comfortable doing that, of course.