Michael Midgley new CEO for shareholder activist group
New Shareholder Association boss strong advocate of giving ordinary shareholders a voice.
Retired lawyer Michael Midgley has been appointed as the newly created role of chief executive of the New Zealand Shareholders’ Association.
Chairman John Hawkins says having a full-time CEO was a natural progression for the association and he will relinquish his executive role while remaining chairman of the group.
“Nothing will change in terms of our aims and objectives, and we will continue to speak out when the situation demands,” Mr Hawkins says.
Mr Midgley, a long-time association member, was a lawyer in private practice and government before moving to senior management roles.
He says he put his hand up for the role because he thinks the role of the association is so important.
“I think it is making a difference for retail shareholders who otherwise have little or no voice,” Mr Midgley says. He says he's just a "small shareholder" like most members of the association.
The NZSA, which now has 19 corporate members, has grown through its strong representation of the rights of ordinary shareholders, he says.
“As shown by the Rakon meeting in Auckland last year and a recent Australia court case, retail shareholder activism can be a powerful lobby for change and improvement.”
The Australian court case he refers to involved German construction company Hochtief being fined $400,000 in December after being found guilty of insider trading by the Federal Court following a civil case brought by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. The German company also agreed to make a $A103,400 payment to the Australian Shareholders Association, which had raised concerns to the regulator about Hochtief’s trading in takeover target Leighton.
Fiona Rotherham
Tue, 28 Feb 2017
Tue, 28 Feb 2017
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Michael Midgley new CEO for shareholder activist group
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