Biotech giant CSL faces the serious prospect of a rebuke from shareholders at this week’s annual general meeting after a torrid year which has seen almost $40 billion wiped from its market value.
Influential proxy advisory firm CGI Glass Lewis earlier in October specifically called out CSL chief executive Paul McKenzie for selling millions of dollars worth of shares in the ailing biotech giant, and recommended shareholders hit the board with a second strike against its remuneration report.
“Significant shareholder losses in FY2025 have revealed a disconnect between the CSL remuneration structure and shareholder returns,” CGI Glass Lewis said in its proxy paper, seen by Capital Brief.
The document called out McKenzie for disposing of “significant parcels of shares” in the three years since his appointment in March 2023. It said that he sold vast portions of equity exposure he gained through incentive plans — ditching 99.7%, 43.6% and 94% of those awards in FY23, FY24 and FY25 respectively.
