Mirvac chairman James MacKenzie volunteers for board re-election to take on doubters

Mirvac chairman James MacKenzie is seeking to win the approval of shareholders by volunteering to stand for re-election at the developer’s next AGM on November 15.

A spokesperson for Mirvac said MacKenzie had decided to stand for re-election "as he believes it is the right thing to do".

MacKenzie will stand for re-election alongside non-executive directors John Peters and Marina Darling and recently appointed finance director Gregory Dyer.

ASX rules require that one-third of an existing board must be re-elected at each annual general meeting, with MacKenzie agreeing to fill the one remaining spot.

The Australian reported that if MacKenzie had not volunteered either James Millar or former Suncorp CEO John Mulcahy would have stood for re-election based on a rotation system.

MacKenzie has been under pressure from institutional minority shareholders following his decision to replace current managing director Nick Collishaw with Europe-based Sue Lloyd-Hurwitz.

Collishaw will step down as managing director and CEO on October 31, with Lloyd-Hurwitz taking on the mantle on November 5.

His move to seek re-election has been welcomed by fund manager Winston Sammut of Maxim Asset Management, who represented shareholders with a cumulative holding of 13% of Mirvac calling for MacKenzie to step down.

"It is now going to be decided by all shareholders," Sammut said.

Australian Shareholders Association chief executive Vas Kolesnikoff says it will be closely scrutinising the re-election of MacKenzie.

Mirvac’s substantial shareholders include the Barclays Group (4.91%), Commonwealth Bank (6.33%), BlackRock Investment Management Australia (5.16%) and Vanguard Group (6.21%)

Ahead of the November 15, MacKenzie will meet with shareholder proxy groups to shore up support.

MacKenzie already has the backing of the Mirvac board.

The Mirvac board comprises MacKenzie plus Marina Darling (only appointed in January 2012), Peter Hawkins (a banker with previous senior roles at ANZ), James Millar (former CEO of Ernst & Young Oceania), former Suncorp CEO John Mulcahy, John Peters (formerly with Lend Lease) and Elana Rubin.