Former Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci has turned his hand to investing after departing the grocery giant with a reported $24million payout.
South Africa-born Mr Banducci announced his surprise retirement in February, 48 hours after a Four Corners episode aired in which he walked out mid-interview.
His last day was in August, with replacement Amanda Bardwell taking the reigns.
Now, Mr Banducci has joined a consortium of investors in 8seats, a messaging platform for businesses which has so far raised $2million.
The company, co-founded by Iain McDonald in 2021, aims to compete with other messaging apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
It claims it will increase productivity by making communication more efficient, without the need for personal phone numbers or corporate email addresses.
Mr McDonald said the $2million raise is a boon for the company ahead of a public launch in 2025.
Before Mr Banducci turned his hand to investing, his tenure at Woolworths was a turbulent one.
Woolworths boss Brad Banducci (pictured) asked ‘Can we take that out? Is that OK?’, then seconds later said ‘I think I’m done guys’ and then walked out of the interview
8seats, co-founded by Iain McDonald in 2021, aims to compete with other messaging apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams
He steered the company through its disastrous Masters hardware collapse, the Covid pandemic, uproar over its ditching of Australia Day merchandise and allegations of price gouging which prompted a Senate inquiry.
But perhaps the most memorable moment of his tenure as CEO was when he walked out of an ABC Four Corners interview.
In the interview, reporter Angus Grigg put it to Mr Banducci that Rod Sims, the former head of the ACCC, had described Australia as having one of the worst concentrated supermarket industries in the world.
Mr Banducci said ‘that’s not true’ and attempted to argue that the Australian supermarket industry was in fact ‘an incredibly competitive market’.
He also pointed out that Mr Sims is ‘retired’.
When Grigg asked the Woolworths head if he was ‘impugning’ Mr Sims’ integrity, Mr Banducci asked: ‘Can we take that out? Is that OK?’
Grigg then said ‘we’re on the record, you’ve said it… let’s just move on’.
Seconds later, Mr Banducci said ‘I think I’m done guys’ and walked out of the room, prompting an astonished Grigg to reply: ‘You’re walking out? Really?’
Mr Banducci’s tenure at Woolworths was a turbulent one, with perhaps his most memorable moment being his sudden exit from a Four Corner interview
Mr Banducci eventually returned to continue the interview. But just days later he announced he was stepping down from his role.
He had also come under fire in recent months for Woolworths’ decision to dump Australia Day merchandise from all its stores.
The move provoked widespread anger, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton calling for a boycott of the supermarket chain.
Mr Banducci had spent 13 years with the company, including almost nine as CEO.
He received total pay of $8.65million last year and left the company with a package estimated to be worth $24.4million at the time.
His successor, Ms Bardwell, has since faced a 17-day strike at four major distribution hubs that left shelves empty in stores across Australia.
She will receive a base salary of $2.15million alongside generous bonus incentives.
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