Silver Heritage Group has announced the appointment of James Spenceley as the company’s new non-executive Chairman and director following the departure of former Chairman David Green earlier this month.
Spenceley is renowned as a power player in the Australian business community, having founded Australia’s fourth largest telecommunications company Vocus Communications in 2007 and turned an initial AU$1 million investment into a AU$5 billion business with annual revenue of AU$1.8 billion.
He is also the current Chairman of online job sharing platform Airtasker, co-founder of Australian capital investment fund MHOR Asset Management and a two-time winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award.
In a Tuesday morning filing to the Australian Securities Exchange, Silver Heritage said that Spenceley will also chair its People and Culture Committee, with interim company Chairman Matthew Hunter to Chair the Audit and Risk Committee.
Silver Heritage revealed that its three independent non-executive directors – Spenceley, Hunter and Robert Benussi – have agreed to waive half of their fees until the end of 2018, saving the company AU$375,000. The agreement will be reassessed at the end of the year.
“This is a great addition to the board and James hits the ground running after multiple visits to Nepal and to Tiger Palace since the opening,” said Silver Heritage Managing Director and CEO Mike Bolsover.
“The non-executive Directors’ agreement to waive 50% of their fees and the reduction from four to three Australian-based board members means we are now streamlined and cost-effective as we enter a new phase of growth.”
Spenceley is no stranger to Silver Heritage. A current investor, he told the Australian Financial Reviewin an interview after his most recent trip to Tiger Palace Resort in Nepal that, “They’re basically trying to create a Macau for India. Now Indians love to gamble, gambling is illegal in India, the only place you can gamble is in Goa which is away from all the population and it’s on riverboats, which you have to get to on ‘tinnies’ so it’s pretty terrible.”
The business mogul is perhaps best known in Australia as the former owner of National Basketball League franchise Illawarra Hawks. Spenceley sold his share in the sporting side in February, citing other business commitments.