Treasury Wine Chairman Faces Tough Questions but Wins Comfortable Re-election

Shareholders of Treasury Wine Estates (TWE.AX) grilled Chairman John Mullen on Thursday over the Australian winemaker’s weak performance, falling share price, and his extensive workload across multiple boards — but ultimately re-elected him by a wide margin at the company’s annual general meeting.

Earlier this week, Treasury — one of the world’s top five wine producers by volume — withdrew its 2026 earnings guidance and suspended a planned share buyback, citing weak sales of its flagship Penfolds label in China and distribution challenges in the United States. The company’s stock has fallen more than 40% since the start of the year.

Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and the Australian Shareholders’ Association had urged investors to vote against Mullen’s re-election, noting his simultaneous chairmanships at Qantas (QAN.AX), Brambles (BXB.AX), and other private boards.

At the meeting, one shareholder asked pointedly, “Can John name anyone in recent history who has chaired three ASX 100 companies at the same time?”

Mullen defended his position, saying the criticism came at an “inopportune time” given the company’s current leadership gap. He stressed that his commitment to Treasury was “absolute” and that he was dedicating “a great deal of time” to its recovery.

“Treasury is going through a very difficult period in its key markets and currently has no chief executive,” Mullen noted. Former CEO Tim Ford stepped down on September 30, and successor Sam Fischer is not due to take over until October 27.

“In a moment when the company is facing these challenges, the idea that shareholders would want no chair at all—it makes my head spin,” he said.

Shareholders appeared to agree: Mullen was comfortably re-elected, with only 14.55% of votes cast against him.