After being fired from Fujitsu, Rod Vawdrey, the company’s former global president, returned to his native Australia, where he became the chief executive of software firm Nuix in 2017. This company launched on the Australian stock exchange in December 2020, with Mr Vawdrey earning almost AUS$28 million in cash and an additional AUS$8 million worth of shares. Despite its initial commercial success, by mid-2021 the share price had collapsed, leaving many investors with significant losses. On 15 June 2021, Mr Vawdrey resigned from Nuix, and the following week, police raided the company’s headquarters.
The Nuix float was described by Rolf Krolke, a former senior executive at the firm turned whistleblower, as a “train wreck waiting to happen”. While Nuix has publicly denied Krolke’s allegations, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is taking both the company and its board to court for allegedly “breaking continuous disclosure laws” and “breaching their director’s duties”. The ASIC case was heard last December, with the court having yet to reach a verdict.
Prior to his position at Nuix, Mr Vawdrey had been responsible for Fujitsu’s UK operation from 2011 to 2014. This was during a crucial period when the Horizon scandal was unfolding. While he has denied involvement in the flawed Horizon project, as executive chairman of Fujitsu Services Ltd, he was responsible for its operations outside Japan, including the UK, and sat on its audit and corporate governance committees. Two former colleagues alleged that Mr Vawdrey was “terminated for cause” by Fujitsu early in 2014, following personal conduct issues, including running up high expenses. He has denied these allegations.
The Horizon scandal related to flaws in the Post Office’s computer system, which led to hundreds of people being unjustly accused of fraud, theft and false accounting. Despite internal concerns being raised by both a barrister and journalists, neither Fujitsu nor the Post Office made public the problems with Horizon until several years later. While Mr Vawdrey is not due to appear at the ongoing Horizon Inquiry, it will hear from Duncan Tait, who was the UK chief executive and reported to him
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More