Lindberg works to stay safe

WORD is the next reunion of AWB's embargo-breaking execs is set for Melbourne.

Two of the dirty half-dozen are whiling away their time in cafes and bars in Melbourne before the corporate watch-puppy's civil action begins.

Andrew Lindberg, AWB's former boss, has emerged as chairman of Russell Consulting International. And no, Russell isn't consulting to the new Iraqi Government.

Lindberg told your diarist his outfit's clients include a swag of resource and energy companies, as well as other "high-risk industries".

Presumably, this doesn't include high-risk pursuits such as wheat exporting or trucking or shipping - the preferred method of doing business with foreign statesmen.

The new gig shouldn't be a surprise because Lindberg has a "continuing interest in health and safety" from his days as the boss of WorkCover in Victoria.

Lindberg departed AWB in early 2006 in the aftermath of the minor matter concerning wheat exports and the late Saddam Hussein,

So how's business in the consultancy world?

Lindberg reckons "it's a tough environment we are in" nowadays.

Of course, it doesn't help when you're about $14,000 out of the money in an investment you made in fund manager Asian Masters Fund last December.

Lindberg couldn't shed any light on what his old AWB workmates such as the gun-toting former Wesfarmers director Trevor Flugge were up to these days.

Though we notice Michael Long is still plugging away in Melbourne as the "general manager of export and contract manufacturing" at Sigma Pharmaceuticals.

Apparently he is drawing on his experience in "various sales and marketing, trading and general management roles in the international commodities business". The experience gained at AWB isn't listed at Sigma.

Taking its toll

Toll Holdings' chief truckie, Paul Little,shouldn't feel too aggrieved about a dip in his pay.

Sure, he's taken a haircut on his $13.43 million salary last year (which was inflated by $8.86 million in deferred compensation). But he still pocketed $5.34 million this year - including a $1.27 million bonus - at the same time as Toll's share price almost halved.

In fact, his base salary rose 11 per cent on the previous year.

Oh, and he'll also receive in the mail a cheque for $4.28 million on October 24, when he pockets Toll's final dividend.

Meanwhile, Brett Godfrey, the boss of what was once Toll's airline, Virgin Blue, has scored $2.36 million - a 19 per cent boost on last year.

Unfortunately for Godfrey, there'll be no dividend payout flying his way any time soon.

Burgess bash

Telstra's departing megaphone, Phil Burgess, is inviting some unlikely mates to his final soiree.

Top of the list for the big bash at the Westin on September 21 is the "car bomber", a term Dr Phil coined for the competition tsar, Graeme Samuel.

Others invitees include Telstra's newest adviser and former NSW premier, Bob Carr, and former Olympic champion Herb Elliott.

Even Telstra's boss, Sol Trujillo, will be back in the country for his closest amigo's last hurrah before he returns to Maryland on September 24. Trujillo and beancounter John Stanhope have been chatting up investors in New York for the last week, most recently at a Merrill Lynch gabfest.

Of course, Dr Phil is not leaving Telstra completely. Like other associates Trujillo has brought in since 2005, he'll remain on the payroll as a consultant.

But there's one name not on Dr Phil's invitation list: Helen Coonan, the former communications minister who was the butt of the odd outburst from the Telstra protagonist.

Parting tirades

Dr Phil, meanwhile, seems keen to remain on the hustings until the day he leaves for the US of A.

He will give his last "Australian business-related" tirade today before heading home (of course, he's still got one final swansong at the Lowy Institute the day before he finally goes). So, it's appropriate the venue for today is the 61st floor of Governor Phillip Tower, which is the Sydney home of law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques.

Like Dr Phil, Mallesons hasn't had loads of success fighting for Telstra in the courts against almost any moving target in recent years. The mother of all battles Telstra waged in the High Court last year ended in a seven-nil whitewash in favour of the Federal Government in March.

In fact, Mallesons's smaller rival, Gilbert & Tobin, is doing most of Telstra's regulatory work nowadays. All of which adds up to a solid stream of revenue for the Gilbert & Tobin folk.

Where there's smoke

There is no truth to the rumour Myer's Sydney store was frantically testing its smoke alarms yesterday.

But after Myer's second store fire in a year - this time at the flagship outlet in Melbourne - could it be more than mere misfortune?

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest: "To lose one parent . may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."

At least the fire at the Hobart store last September had a silver lining. It gave the private equity owners, TPG, a boost to the bottom line with a $20 million insurance payout. This resulted in a net gain of $8 million.

Whoever said you need to sell handbags to make a profit?

Where it counts

Victorian tax specialist Frank Ford seems to have finally discovered the importance of a quality set of numbers in weighing up the health of a company.

Last year Ford, a former big banana at Deloittes in Melbourne, was trumpeting in a 614-word column the need for bosses to focus more of their attention on "non-financial measurements".

But after getting the nod to take a seat at ABC Learning's board last month, Ford declined the invitation. Maybe those numbers are more important.