This week, Mr White settled a legal battle with Linda Rogan, a beauty entrepreneur who came close to appearing in the reality TV show The Real Housewives of Sydney.
Ms Rogan had claimed Mr White bought her a A$13m Sydney mansion, but had refused to allow her to move in after his long-term girlfriend discovered the relationship, leaving her with huge bills for furnishing the house.
She claimed that the relationship began after Mr White had invited her to New York after offering to back her business, booking one hotel room for the two of them without her knowledge. The two confidentially settled the case earlier this week.
Australian media reported this week that in separate cases Mr White had paid millions of dollars in late 2020 to a former partner and gave a former employee a A$7m house after a relationship with her. A former WiseTech director also accused Mr White of “sustained intimidation and bullying” when she resigned in 2019.
Meanwhile, Zena Nasser, Mr White’s wife, with whom he had a child in July, is reported to have applied for and subsequently withdrawn an “apprehended violence order” – a restraining order for victims of or people concerned about domestic violence – in 2021.
WiseTech’s board responded to the allegations earlier this week to say it was “actively seeking further information and taking external advice”.
On Thursday, it said Mr White would stand down as chief executive immediately and take a “full-time, long-term consulting role” with the title “founder and founding CEO” on the same A$1m a year salary he was previously paid.
Mr White said: “It has been a challenging time for me personally, my family and close friends, and for the company that I have built and truly love. I want to assure all those who have supported WiseTech, as customers, colleagues, and shareholders, that I remain absolutely committed to seeing this incredible organisation continue to thrive and grow in the coming years.”
He added the board had been discussing succession planning for some time.
Richard Dammery, the company’s chairman, hailed Mr White as “a true giant of the Australian technology industry [who] has built one of our most remarkable corporate success stories”.
WiseTech has appointed the law firms Herbert Smith Freehills and Seyfarth Shaw to examine recent allegations surrounding Mr White. It has appointed the company’s chief financial officer as its interim chief executive.
Mr White, a former guitar technician who worked with AC/DC’s Angus and Malcolm Young, founded WiseTech in 1994 and has grown it into Australia’s largest listed technology company. The company specialises in software for logistics companies.