Seabrook to chair BGC

BGC Australia chairman Neil Hamilton has stepped down after more than five years in the role, with Jennifer Seabrook taking his place as the board continues to pursue a sale of the business.

With his 72nd birthday approaching next month, Mr Hamilton said now was a good time to step down.

“It’s been about five-and-a-half years,” he told Business News.

“It’s been longer than anticipated, I thought it was going to be two or three years.”

A trigger for his retirement was the recent settlement of the sale of BGC’s fibre cement and plasterboard businesses, first announced in October last year.

Mr Hamilton joined the BGC board in October 2018 when the Buckeridge family was pursuing a sale of the building materials and construction business in its entirety.

He has subsequently overseen the sale of multiple BGC assets amid the tumult of COVID and difficult trading conditions.

However, its core assets are still under the ownership of the family.

Mr Hamilton’s only continuing business role is part-time chair of corporate advisory firm Sternship Advisers, led by dealmaker Tim Day.

He said his intention was to spend more time enjoying the beach, travelling and spending time with his family.

Ms Seabrook joined the BGC board at the same time as Mr Hamilton, along with former banking executive Matthew Bungey.

She is also chair of ASX company Deterra Royalties and a non-executive director of health fund HBF.

Ms Seabrook is one of just a few female professional directors in Perth to chair a major ASX company.

The board also includes three members of the Buckeridge family – Julian Ambrose, Sam Buckeridge and Andrew Buckeridge.

The board continues to work with Macquarie Capital, which has an ongoing mandate to sell assets and return capital to members of the extended Buckeridge family.