Thebitter contest over her exit intensified last week,as Ms Holgate accused Australia Post chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo of forcing her out of the top job over revelations she had rewarded four employees withCartier watches totalling $20,000 in 2018. Ms Holgate and Mr Di Bartolomeo will outline their conflicting accounts at a public hearing of the Senate communications committee on Tuesday.
Mr Graham,who was Woolworths’ chief supply chain officer for the past five years,made no mention of the turbulence around Ms Holgate’s exit as he welcomed his appointment. He will take the reins in September,with acting chief executive Rodney Boys to continue in the role until then.
“Australia Post has proven itself to be one of the most resilient and successful postal businesses anywhere in the world. I feel fortunate to be joining at a time when we can truly capitalise on the extraordinary growth in e-commerce experienced in the past year and continue developing our retail and digital offerings while keeping letter deliveries strong,” Mr Graham said.
“I am most looking forward to meeting the team across the country – the posties,post office workers,mail processors and delivery drivers that kept our country operating during COVID-19. I am also looking forward to getting out into regional Australia where Australia Post has an enormous presence,as well as meeting with the thousands of Post Office licensee partners who play a critical role every day serving the country.”
Mr Di Bartolomeo said Mr Graham had been selected following a global search and praised his “logistics,digital and retail experience both here and overseas,including as a senior executive at Deutsche Post DHL”.
“The board was impressed by Paul’s 40 years of deep industry experience working in supply chain in Australia,Europe and Asia. We are also confident Paul’s community and customer philosophy is a perfect fit for Australia Post,” Mr Di Bartolomeo said.