Andrew and Cinzia Burnes have withdrawn their nominations for places on the Webjet Group board, days before the company’s AGM.
In an ASX release today, Webjet Group said it was notified after market close on Friday, 21 August, by Retail Travel Investments Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Helloworld, of the decision to withdraw the two nominations.
The nominations had been due to go to a vote under Resolution 5 at Webjet’s AGM, scheduled for 27 August 2026. The vote will no longer proceed.
The update comes after a sub-committee recommended that shareholders to vote against the nomination.
In a 27 July update, Webjet noted that its two independent Board members, Ellie Comerford and Dr John Boris, had been appointed to a sub-committee to consider the nominations. The committee considered factors including the competitive overlap between Helloworld and Webjet, as well as proportionate representation on the Board.
It noted that, as COO of Helloworld, Cinzia Burnes had significant oversight of Helloworld’s day-to-day operations, which could, consciously or unconsciously, influence decisions made at Webjet Group.
The committee also noted that, as 20.21 per cent shareholders, the nominations would result in Helloworld holding 33 per cent of the non-executive Board representation, which it considered disproportionate representation.
As a result of these factors, the independent sub-committee recommended that shareholders vote against Resolution 5.
Travel Weekly is not suggesting that the sub-committee’s recommendation was the reason for the withdrawal.
All other business listed in the Notice of Meeting will proceed as scheduled, including interim chairman Gary Weiss’s proposed Board appointment.
