Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci has announced he's retiring, just days after the ABC aired footage of a heated interview with Four Corners reporter Angus Grigg.

Council of the City of Sydney

 Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci has resigned

Well, probably not as a shock to the Woolworths board, but everyone else was pretty much in the dark. Maybe surprised. It has to be said that Brad Banducci had been chief executive of Woolworths for eight years, which is a long time to be chief executive, 13 years with the Woolworths group. But of course, a man under pressure this week in particular. But like any strong boards, the Woolworths board would have been considering their succession planning well before today's announcement. The announcement of the half-year results, a good time to make this announcement because investors will be concerned about what's happening now that Brad Banducci is going, the face of the company. He's going to be replaced by Amanda Bardwell, so they have a new chief executive in place. But Amanda Bardwell, under a fair bit of pressure, coming up with the big supermarket inquiries and some of the pressures that Brad Banducci has faced over allegations of supermarket price gouging, bad relationships with suppliers. But not an entire shock, but it is probably unusual to see someone who's been a strong chief executive and I've had to say, perhaps with the exception of this week's interview on Four Corners, a calm and a smooth operator. Rod Sims, the former head of the ACCC says that we have one of the most concentrated supermarkets in the world. Is he lying? It's not true. And it's, it is not true. This community over here, there will be three coal stores within two kilometres of it, at least one Aldi store, a series of independents, ability to, within 24 hours, have a quarter of our store delivered to you by Amazon. It is an incredibly competitive market. The risk people have is... I'm sorry, the former head of the competition commission says, his words are, that we have... Retired, by the way. I don't think you would impugn his integrity and his understanding of competition law. I'm just saying the world has got much more competitive. He retired 18 months ago. He's not... Okay, let's, well, can we take that out? Is that okay? I should, I mean, he is retired, but I shouldn't have said that, Angus. Are we going to leave it in there if we are? Well, I mean, we're on the record. You said it. I mean, you know, let's, let's move on. But yeah. Yeah. No, I think I'm done, guys. You know, I do this with good intent. You know, I don't do this with bad intent. You're walking out, really? No, no, no. Can we just talk? No, no. Let me just... Can we just have a minute? Let's pause for a bit. Let's keep going. Well, I'd have to say, in the case of Woolworths, Brad Banducci and other chief executives, Coles, for example, they do put themselves up for questioning by journalists at their full-year and half-year results and other events. But yes, they do run very tight, I suppose, spin machines. However, the case of the way that Brad Banducci handled that interview is probably now the latest case study in PR and media training handbooks. You don't walk out on an interview when you know there's a two-camera shoot underway and the cameras are rolling. When everything is on the record. But as I said before, Brad Banducci, an open, a smooth operator, but, you know, his replacement is going to be facing a fair bit of fire, given anger about supermarket prices, those allegations of gouging, collusion. So it is going to be a pretty tough road ahead. Yeah, it sure is for the replacement, Amanda Bardwell. Now, what are we expecting today then? We've got the share market opening, of course, but Woolworths preparing to release its profits results. Well, that's right. Woolworths also rolled out its half-year results for the six months to the end of December. A bit of a sideshow today, I suppose, given the retirement of Brad Banducci. The underlying net profit attributable to shareholders for that half-year, $929 million, only up by 2.5 per cent, which shows the pressures and the challenging environment, particularly from inflation. So it'll be interesting to see how the market takes that. But clearly, when you have a major chief executive moving on, even though he's been chief executive for eight years, that's a bit of a jolt for a company. But I would say that we've heard about the Virgin Australia chief executive, Jane Hurd-Licker, going. No replacement announced. No search underway yet, which does show that that was a shock, unlike Woolworths, who knew this was coming and they needed to have someone in place to have an orderly transition. So Brad Banducci finishing up in September 2024.

The Paris Olympic Games have officially opened with a ceremony in the rain along the River Seine. Athletes floated along on boats for the parade, while former French sprinter Marie-José Pérec and French judoka Teddy Riner lit the Olympic flame.

Paris

Paris Olympics

Paris Olympics underway after Opening Ceremony

Taiwanese authorities are assessing the damage caused by Typhoon Gaemi. The coastguard has been rescuing boats stranded by the tropical storm. The official death toll has risen to eight, with more than 800 people injured.

Taipei

Cargo crew rescued from Typhoon Gaemi

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Chico

Uncontrolled fires burn across California

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Tsim Sha Tsui

Climate Crisis

Thousands evacuated in China as Typhoon makes landfall

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El Paso

Mexican drug lords arrested in El Paso

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Palm Beach

Netanyahu meets Trump, says working on cease-fire

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Kansas City

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France rail network attacked before Olympics

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Saboteurs attack French railways ahead of Olympic ceremony

Typhoon Gaemi pummeled towns on China's coastal Fujian province on Friday with heavy rains and strong winds as the most powerful storm to hit the country this year began its widely watched trek into the populous interior.

Fujian

Typhoon Gaemi lashes China after pounding Taiwan, Philippines

Presidential candidates in Venezuela have held their final campaign rallies ahead of the election on Sunday. Opposition leaders are asking voters to oust President Nicolas Maduro, who's seeking a third term. But Maduro has warned the country risks a "bloodbath" if the opposition wins.

Caracas

Final rallies held ahead of Venezuela presidential election

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Washington

Israel-Gaza War

Harris strikes tougher tone on Gaza ceasefire deal

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Swim coach spared axe over supporting Korean rival

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Athletes navigate security risks at Paris 2024

Typhoon Gaemi has reached southeastern China after churning across the Taiwan Strait. The typhoon has prompted warnings of swelling rivers, flash floods, and waterlogging in cities and provinces that were hit by extreme rains several weeks ago.

Typhoon Gaemi hits China after pounding Taiwan, Philippines

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Major security operation in place to guard Paris Olympics

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Biden meets with Netanyahu, presses for ceasefire in Gaza

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Miranda

Man with knife and explosives arrested at Westfield

The Prime Minister is set to unveil a new Cabinet line-up after two senior members announced today they're retiring from politics. Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and Brendan O'Connor will move to the backbench.

Canberra

Prime Minister set to reveal cabinet reshuffle

A limited curfew is still in place in Bangladesh after days of protests and a police crackdown. Some businesses and government offices are reopening, and partial internet service is being restored in some areas. Police have arrested more than 2,000 people. The United Nations has demanded an investigation of the Bangladeshi government's crackdown on student protesters.

Dhaka

UN demands investigation of Bangladesh's crackdown on protesters

President Joe Biden on Wednesday said abandoning his reelection campaign and endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, as the Democratic candidate was the best way to unite the country and save democracy, despite his ambition to win a second term.

U.S. Presidential Election

Biden says he bowed out to unite nation, backs Harris to beat Trump

On the eve of the Olympics the city of Paris is getting ready to put on a show For the next two and a half weeks the competition will unfold in some of the capital's most iconic sites all prepped for the occasion, while thousands of miles away the French Polynesian island of Tahiti is also getting ready to host the surfing events.

From Paris to Polynesia, final Olympic preparations underway

Thousands of people gathered in North Carolina for Donald Trump's first rally since Joe Biden pulled out of the race. It’s a key battleground state for both sides and the Republican nominee wasted no time in going on the attack against his likely opponent in November, Kamala Harris.

North Carolina

Trump slams Harris as ‘radical’ in first rally since Biden’s exit

In a fiery speech to the U.S. Congress skipped by some top Democrats, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed critics of his country’s war against Hamas as ‘useful idiots’ for Iran, and said America and Israel must stand together.

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A passenger plane has crashed and caught fire shortly after taking off from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, killing 18 people, aviation officials say. The pilot was the only survivor of the crash and was treated in hospital.

Kathmandu

Nepal plane crash kills 18; pilot only survivor

Heavy rain from Typhoon Gaemi has flooded the Philippine capital Manila and nearby cities, forcing authorities to shut schools, offices and cancel flights and declare a state of calamity in a region that is home to 13 million people.

Manila

Typhoon Gaemi brings heavy rain to Manila, forcing evacuation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told families of hostages held in Gaza that a deal that would secure their loved ones' release could be nearing, his office said.

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Wisconsin

Harris slams Trump at first campaign rally

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Paris officials criticized for pre-Olympic homeless sweep

The head of the United States Secret Service is stepping down over the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump after days of mounting pressure and criticism for failing to prevent the shooting.