Trevor Eastwood AM was the CEO of the large Australian corporation Wesfarmers Ltd from 1984 to 1992 and its chairman from 2002 to 2008. After graduating BEng at the University of Western Australia, [1] he joined Wesfarmers in 1963 as a cadet engineer [2] and was associated with the company for over 45 years. In July 2008, he announced his impending retirement, [3] which took place on 13 November 2008, [4] when he was replaced by Bob Every. [5]
He was also a director of Qantas and West Australian Newspapers.[ citation needed]
In July 2007, Eastwood authorised the biggest takeover in Australian financial history—Wesfarmers' acquisition of Coles Myer Limited. [1] In February 2008, he entered a public controversy over alleged excessive remuneration of corporate executives, declaring Wesfarmers chief executive Michael Chaney's $7.9 million pay cheque as "outrageous", and reducing it. [6] He later reminded shareholders that they could vote to remove directors who endorsed executive greed [7] and, in May 2009, told a company directors’ forum that incentives should be abolished altogether. [8]
References
- ^ a b Carolyn Batt Cool is the rule for man who leads Wesfarmers The Age, 7 July 2007
- ^ Wesfarmers chairman Trevor Eastwood to retire Business Spectator, 3 July 2008 [ dead link]
- ^ Wesfarmers chairman to step down Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine Inside Retailing, 4 July 2008
- ^ Wesfarmers investors veto chief's pay rise Sydney Morning Herald BusinessDay, 15 November 2008
- ^ See Bob Every Director profile on Wesfarmers official website (accessed at 8 November 2010)
- ^ The bucks stop here Sydney Morning Herald, 23 February 2008
- ^ Dean Paatsch Investors pay dearly for failure to heed warnings on corporate governance The Age BusinessDay, 22 November 2008
- ^ Alan Kohler: Unfair and unstoppable Business Spectator, 15 June 2009