6 questions lodged at 2026 REA Group (REA) virtual AGM

Q1. When serving as Car Group CEO, Cam McIntyre was involved in the call to embrace early disclosure of the proxies to the ASX well ahead of the AGM kick off. Sadly, REA has maintained its practice of withholding proxy disclosure and has stripped the proxies data from the formal presentation slides lodged with the ASX. Did the board even discuss early disclosure emulating Car Group's best practice and, if not, will you undertake to look into embracing that practice at next year's AGM? Also, were there any protests on rem matters?

Answer: The chair Hamish McLennan said they'd look at it but am not hopeful. There were no rem protests. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q2. When bringing in an external CEO in a fiercely contested race involving multiple internal candidates, loss of talent is often a key challenge for the board to manage, especially if the new CEO fancies eliminating ambitious internal rivals. How many of former CEO Owen Wilson's direct reports have left the business since Cam McIntyre's appointment and could Cam comment on how many former Car Group colleagues he has brought across to REA Group since he started on November 3 last year?

Answer: The chair made some general comments about retention but didn't specifically answer the exiting direct reports component but Cam McIntyre said he hadn't hired a single person from Car Group, which is a little surprising. Apologies for no video of this exchange.

Q3. As the only director up for election today, could Nick Dowling comment on how involved the News Corp nominee directors were in the process to select Sally Bruce as the newest independent director to represent non-News Corp shareholders on the board? Also, which recruitment firm assisted with the search, how many other candidates were interviewed by multiple directors and did Nick or any of our other directors or KMP know Sally before she engaged with the recruitment process?

Answer: Because chair Hamish imposed a 2 question per resolution limit, had to direct this question at the only director election resolution (Nick Dowling) because there wasn't a resolution on Sally Bruce as she's is joining the board by way of casual vacancy on November 2 (see Tweet on that issue). Was surprised Nick Dowling took this question and impressed with the answer, detailing a good process with a search firm. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q4. I'm always puzzled why new directors and CEOs don't buy shares in a company before formally taking up their position so that their opening shareholding filing to the ASX doesn't appear as a zero. Cam McIntyre was announced as CEO on August 18 last year yet was still on zero when he started on November 3. Was he banned from buying or did black out periods apply? Is Cam only going to rely on this LTI program to build equity in the business and has he sold down his large shareholding in Car group since leaving that business?

Answer: The chair didn't even give Cam a chance to respond to any aspect of this question. He's technically right to dismiss his Car Group shareholding as irrelevant but multiple other CEOs have answered this question in the past (see Q4 at Stockland last year). Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q5. Thank you to Kelly Bayer Rosmarin for her 5 years of service on the board. It is always helpful for investors to have access to some exit perspectives from retiring independent directors. In her final contribution as an REA director, could Kelly please comment on what she regards as the best 2 decisions REA made during her time on the board and does she have any regrets? Is she comfortable that independent shareholders are appropriately represented on the REA board?

Answer: The chair and Kelly took the opportunity to praise each other, then she gave a thoughtful response saying that the best decisions are often what you choose not to do (ie silly takeovers) but overall at REA she felt they'd learnt from past mistakes on acquisitions and had also done well investing in its tech stack. Hiring a great CEO is often one of the great achievements cited in response to this question but Owen Wilson was already in place when she joined the board and it's too early to declare Cam McIntyre a great decision. Overall, this was a good response, although like most respondents to this questions, she offered no regrets. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q6. Is this Nick Dowlling's last term and why is he serving a 4th term when Kelly has exited after just 5 years? Also, can he cite any examples of taking on the News Corp directors on behalf of the independent shareholders he represents?

Answer: Overboarding REA forever chair Hamish McLennan made the slightly self-interested comment that “we like long term tenure at REA” and then declared that Nick Dowling can stay “as long as he likes”. He is impressive but that is actually effectively a call for controlling shareholder News Corp when his term expires in 3 years. He's also not independent and should be serving as "the official representative of Australia's real estate agents" on this board, separate from News Corp and separate again from the independent directors. Like so many conflicted directors, it looks like Nick flourishes because he is good at the overall director job. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus this chair response to an ASA question challenging his independence.

Copyright © 2026 The Mayne Report. All rights reserved

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