Graeme is a former CEO and Chartered Accountant with more than 35 years’ experience in professional services, investment banking, broadcast infrastructure and telecommunications.
Over the past 20 years Graeme has held Executive Chairman or Group CEO roles at BAI Communications, Transit Wireless LLC (New York), Nextgen Networks, Metronode data centres and Axicom group (formerly Crown Castle Australia), and for 8 years during this period was also an executive director in Macquarie Group’s infrastructure team. In these roles, Graeme was responsible for all aspects of strategy, M&A, sales and business development, contract delivery and operations, as well as implementing the appropriate capital structure and raising equity and third-party debt for these businesses in Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, USA and New Zealand.
Over the past 20 years in these businesses, Graeme led and completed more than 20 acquisition and divestment transactions including the sale of Nextgen Networks to Vocus for $820 million in 2016 and the sale of Metronode to Equinix for $1.04 billion in 2018. In his role as Chairman of Uniti Group Limited (ASX: UWL), he led the company from a market capitalisation of $30 million at IPO in February 2019 to the successful divestment via a Scheme of Arrangement to a consortium of investors led by HRL Morrison and Brookfield Asset Management at an enterprise value of $3.8 billion in August 2022.
Included in his prior board appointments are: Arqiva Limited (institutionally owned UK telecommunications infrastructure group), Chairman of the main board and of the Audit and Risk committee for Nextgen group (Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan majority owned fibre network and data centre owner), NED and member of the Audit and Risk Committee of Axicom Group (institutionally owned mobile tower operator), and Chairman of Uniti Group Limited (ASX:UWL) (fibre to the premise network owner).
Graeme was appointed to the Codan board in 2015 and became Chairman in February 2023.
Graeme holds an honours economics degree, is a Chartered Accountant, a fellow of FINSIA and a member of AICD.
