Damon Kitney
January 30, 2013
The Australian
THE Australian operations of Silicon Valley-based technology company Better Place look set to be dramatically scaled back or even abandoned after the surprise resignation of its global chief, Australian entrepreneur Evan Thornley, following a boardroom dispute over strategy.
Better Place released a statement a fortnight ago saying Mr Thornley had quit after three months in the job.
Mr Thornley said in a note to staff at the time that “in recent times, strong and honestly held differences have emerged at the most senior levels of the company about how we best take the company forward”.
“I do not wish to be a barrier to that unity and so will step down and let the company transition to new leadership,” he said.
It is understood Mr Thornley favoured pushing on with the rollout of Better Place’s electric car recharge network in Australia, China and the US, but the board favoured scaling back the operations to its established markets of Israel and Denmark to reduce its cash-burn, which has become significant in recent years.
Better Place is rolling out a network of electric car recharge points in homes, workplaces and shopping centres across Canberra and has struck a partnership with ActewAGL for the supply of 100 per cent green power to the network.
Melbourne, Mr Thornley’s home town, was on the agenda as its next Australian destination.
Mr Thornley is believed to have completed a raising of about $100 million late last year to fund Better Place’s expansion plans, backed by its major shareholder Israel Corp and HSBC Bank.
He declined to comment yesterday, but the Australian operations of Better Place look set to be put on care and maintenance or pared to a skeleton customer service business in the wake of his departure. More is expected to be revealed this week.
“We expect to learn more in the coming days about any impact the CEO change may have on the Australian operations of Better Place, and we will keep you updated with any news,” Australian chief executive Antony Cohen told staff and investors yesterday. “From the global perspective, the Better Place strategy has not changed and expanding globally remains the plan.
“There has been a recent shift to focus on the markets where networks are deployed and cars are on the road, currently Denmark and Israel. This requires focused resource allocation and management attention which will result in slowing down pace in other markets for a while.
“Australia is an important front and an attractive market, which Better Place plans to cultivate as soon as we are ready. In Australia, we are continuing to serve our customers.”
About 25 per cent of the group’s Australian staff were made redundant before Christmas, as was half the group’s workforce in Israel.
The company posted a loss of $US64 million ($61.2m) in the last quarter and $US132m last financial year.
Israel Corp, which owns about 30 per cent of Better Place, said in November the electric car company had accumulated a deficit of $US561.5m and that more losses were expected.
Israel Corp is controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer, who is an investor in Better Place and chairman of the company. Last October Better Place replaced its charismatic founder, Israeli software whiz and multi-millionaire Shai Agassi. The new acting chief is company veteran Dan Cohen.
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