3 questions lodged at 2026 Neuren Pharmaceuticals (NEU) hybrid AGM
May 28, 2026
Below is the text of the 3 written questions submitted at the 81 minute Neuren Pharmaceuticals (NEU) 2pm hybrid AGM at RACV Melbourne and via Link platform. See notice of meeting with just 3 resolutions and no remuneration report vote. HQ is in Camberwell but incorporated in New Zealand so no requirement for a rem report vote. Market cap $1.82b on AGM day. The proxies were disclosed early in the formal addresses showing 29% against the constitutional amendments and 13.5% against the CEO's LTI grant. The poll results were very similar so the constitutional amendments failed.
Q1. New Zealand is regarded by some as a governance backwater as it continues to resist mandating annual voting on remuneration reports, which is standard in many countries, including Australian, the UK and the US. Given that our head office is in Camberwell and we hold our AGMs in Australia, why don't we voluntarily put up a remuneration report resolution for an advisory vote at the AGM? Will you do that next year? Also, there was a 13.5% proxy protest vote on the proposed CEO LTI grant. Which proxy advisers recommended against and what was the issue?
Answer: Neuren chair Patrick Davies claimed this rem question was “deliberately designed to inflame Trevor Scott”. Say what? Had to google the bloke. He's a Kiwi who did 22 years on Neuren board. Pat is very dismissive of proxy advisers, rem voting, audit tenders etc. Not a governance advocate. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus these additional comments by Mr Davies when he declared: “I don't think it (rem report votes) adds any value whatsoever”.
Q2. Grant Thornton has been our external auditor for many years. With a market cap of $1.82 billion, isn't it time we moved to having a Big Four auditor. When was the external audit last competitively tendered and when is it next likely to be competitively tendered. Do we have a policy on audit firm rotation and frequency of tendering? If not, why not?
Answer: Got Neuren Pharmaceuticals chair Patrick Davies cold on this audit tendering and rotation question. Sounds like second tier firm Grant Thornton is auditor for life with no tenders. They don't even have a policy. Poor! Watch video of exchange via Twitter.
Q3.It looks like the constitutional amendments might be defeated with 28% against on the proxies. Which proxy advisers recommended against and what proposed changes concerned them. How hard did we lobby our largest 10 shareholders and the proxy advisers to try and win their support and did we consider withdrawing the resolution rather than running the gauntlet of a narrow victory or, even worse, the first defeat of a board recommended resolution in the history of Neuren AGMs?
Answer: Straight talking Neuren chair Patrick Davies is clearly annoyed his “utterly boring” constitutional amendments look like going down with 29% against on proxies. He reckons issue was the MD being exempted from 3 yearly election cycle. That's standard in OZ. Surely can't be that! It was defeated in the poll. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.
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