Former WiseTech employee’s case against Richard White dismissed
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The news: Former WiseTech employee and Brazilian national Caroline Heidemann’s case against billionaire Richard White has been dismissed less than 24 hours before the matter’s first scheduled hearing.
The context: Both parties agreed to withdraw from the matter scheduled for Tuesday morning in the Federal Court, suggesting that the pair have settled outside of court.
Heidemann had alleged that White created a situation of “economic dependency” and engaged in “unlawful conduct for sexual gratification,” making it apparent that any financial assistance she was to receive was contingent upon her engaging in a personal relationship with White.
In a separate matter, White settled with a former partner Linda Rogan in October last year after she accused him of promising to fund her wellness business in exchange for sexual favours.
Issues tied to White’s personal conduct forced him to resign as CEO last year, and prompted the WiseTech board to launch a review into allegations of White’s inappropriate conduct. The review findings eventually cleared White, however, questions about his ongoing role at the software company persisted.
Four independent directors resigned from the WiseTech board over whether the review should be released, and White was able to reinstate himself as executive chairman just days after the exodus.
In February, the drama at WiseTech drew attention from the corporate regulator, with Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Joe Longo telling a Senate estimates hearing: "There's been some personal misbehaviour," confirming statements earlier that week that ASIC was making preliminary inquiries into "what’s going on at WiseTech and the extraordinary manoeuvres at board level".
Longo told the committee personal misbehaviour can lead to governance issues in a company, but "whether that leads to actionable breaches of the Corporations Act that ASIC can do something about — that's another matter".
It's "very healthy" to continue discussions about governance and culture, Longo said.
Earlier this month WiseTech announced a new employment agreement for White, who has been given the title of executive chair and chief innovation officer for a 10-year term from 26 February 2025, with the option to extend for a further five years by mutual agreement.
Under the terms of the new employment agreement, White's role will focus on delivering WiseTech's product roadmap, commercialisation of new products, strategy development and implementation, and leading the company's succession planning.
The sources: Federal Court of Australia, Capital Brief, AFR
