4 questions lodged at 2026 Collins Foods (CKF) hybrid AGM
September 1, 2026
Below is the text of the 4 written questions submitted at the 38 minute Collins Foods (CKF) 9.30am hybrid AGM held in Brisbane on September 1, 2026 and via the Computershare platform. See notice of meeting detailing 5 resolutions, although Nicki Anderson's re-election was withdrawn on August 18 and she didn't turn up at the AGM, citing "personal reasons". Market cap $965m on AGM day. The proxies were not disclosed early in these formal addresses but there were no material protest votes. Also, see 4 questions asked at 2025 AGM and 9 questions asked at 2022 AGM.
Q1. PwC has been the external auditor for Collins Foods since 2005. How many competitive tenders for the audit have we run during this 21 year run, when was the last competitive tender and when is the next tender likely to occur? If there has been no tender, just say that rather than talking about 5 year partner rotations which we all know is the law?
Answer: The chair Mark Hawthorne said they ran a robust competitive tender last year coinciding with the latest 5 yearly partner rotation and PwC was successful. This is too long. They should have opted for a change after 20 years. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.
Q2. It is very unusual for a public company to lose 2 of its 3 female directors at the same AGM, particularly when neither is particularly long serving. Seeing as Nicki Anderson is not at the meeting, could out-going audit committee chair Christine Holman please comment on why she believes this has happened? Could the chair comment on how many new directors we are likely to be electing at next year's AGM and confirm that at least one of them will be female?
Answer: No real insight here from Collins Foods chair Mark Hawthorne on why Nicki Anderson suddenly quit, although he did confirm they were searching for a new female director. If the former chair of 11 years, Robert Kaye, is hanging around, then why not the incumbent female directors who were both up for re-election today? Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus these additional comments by Christine Holman who correctly pointed out that 7 years is not a short tenure. The chair said Christine's plan was always just to serve 2 terms.
Q3. Which of the proxy advisers covered us this year and did any recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions, including this remuneration report item? If so, what reasons did they give and did this translate into any material protest votes? Please don't say they are confidential. It is standard for companies to be across this detail on the voting recommendations and inform shareholders where relevant and I could show you examples of more than 50 chairs responding positively to this question.
Answer: Kudos to Collins Foods chair Mark Hawthorne for naming the 4 groups and saying they had all recommended in favour. This is how you do it. No rubbish confidentiality deflections. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.
Q4. Could new director Meredith Scott and the chair comment on the recruitment process that led to her appointment to the board? Which head hunting firm was involved, did the full board interview any other candidates and did Meredith know any of our directors or KMP before engaging with the recruitment process?
Answer: Sounds like a good clean competitive recruitment process. Pleased to have the recruitment firm named by the chair although he didn't say if Meredith knew any of the players beforehand and she wasn't invited to respond to the question. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.
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