🟠 News Club - What would Robyn do?

Elon Musk’s been making headlines (again), and the latest scandal has got me thinking - how is Robyn Denholm, Tesla’s chair, handling all this? So, this week, we take a look at the Australian woman behind the world’s most unpredictable boss.

What would Robyn do?

Elon Musk - the world’s richest man - has been in the news a lot. Since the start of the year, he’s been all over the latest iteration of the Trump administration, generating headlines during the unconventional collaboration. 

But it was the latest scandal that boiled over this weekend - claims Musk was as high as a kite for slabs of time while he was in the White House - that made me realise I regularly have the same thought while reading these reports. 

I find myself asking the question: how’s Robyn Denholm going to handle that? 

In case you don’t know her name, she’s the chair of Musk’s electric car/battery company Tesla. She’s also an Aussie.

It’s not a sentiment I extend to the leaders of any other business when they’re in trouble. For me, there’s something compelling about her local creds and the big personality she’s dealing with. And when that story dropped on the weekend, I visualised her being pinged the link to the story, picking up her phone and sighing ‘oh no, Elon. Not again…’

I realise my (imaginary) connection with Denholm might not be as strong as yours. So if she’s not someone you’re au fait with, our Club Picks this week will bring you up to speed.  

1. From working at the family petrol station in Sydney’s West, to accounting, to a highly respected exec in the US tech industry, Denholm’s profitable ride to the top has been underpinned by a lot of hard work. “It sounds in hindsight that everything was perfectly planned, and I just executed the plan. That’s not the case,” she told Forbes last year. 

2. The Financial Review recently delved into Denholm’s role as Tesla chair, and, particularly, the challenges of working with Musk. It highlights the pressure points, but one of her supporters said her MO is to be across the brief. “When there is a hint of unethical or underhanded behaviour, she responds very firmly and consistently. She is definitely not a pushover.”

3. Speaking of tackling tricky issues, Denholm is chairing the Albanese Government’s review into research and development, which has identified Australia’s underinvestment since 2008. A report is due at the end of the year. 

4. The Denholm family are big into Aussie basketball - so much so that they co-own the WNBL. The vision is to “transform the League into the platform that our incredible female players, clubs, fans, and everyone involved truly deserve.” Daughter Victoria oversees that venture, as outlined in last week’s AFR Rich List. 

I reckon Denholm would like our Newshounds program - helping kids become critical consumers of news and media online would be right down her alley (maybe…). Now there’s food for thought… 

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