KMD result sends Bowman and Foote down the rankings

KMD Brands chair Philip Bowman has fallen 20 places in October’s The Boardroom Table rankings after the company reported a $414.4 million statutory loss.

KMD Brands owns Kathmandu, Rip Curl and Oboz. It has recorded statutory losses in each of the past three years as it works through difficult trading conditions.

Bowman, a KMD Brands director since 2017, became chair on 1 May 2026. He dropped from 27th to 47th, while fellow director Abby Foote CFInstD fell 12 places from 50th to 62nd.

John Strowger, who joined the KMD board on 1 July 2026, slipped just one place to 35th. Datamine, which produces The Boardroom Table, phases new directorships into its rankings over 12 months, meaning KMD's result currently has relatively little influence on his score. His ranking is driven mainly by his roles at Skellerup, which he chairs, and Sanford.

Bowman's chair role carries additional weighting, although Datamine estimates this accounted for only about four of the 20 places he fell.

Datamine attributes the directors' movements to KMD Brands' FY26 result, released on 23 September.

The company's statutory loss increased from $93.6 million in FY25 to $414.4 million. Most of that came from a $462.7 million non-cash impairment before tax. The underlying loss improved from $28.3 million to $9 million.

There were also operational gains. Sales rose 6.5% to $1.053 billion and gross margin increased from 56.5% to 57.7%. Datamine says the size of the impairment outweighed those improvements in its benchmarking. 

McDonald enters at seventh

Former Contact Energy chair Rob McDonald CMInstD enters The Boardroom Table at seventh after joining the Air New Zealand board on 24 September 2026.

McDonald chaired Contact Energy from September 2018 until September 2026. Contact's share price rose 49.2% during that period, and Datamine says his tenure there carries significant weight in his ranking.

His Air New Zealand appointment also makes him eligible for the table, which requires at least two qualifying New Zealand public-company directorships. A directorship that ended within the past 18 months can still count, with its weighting reducing over time.

Five new entrants

McDonald is one of five directors entering the rankings this month.

Fraser Whineray enters at 34th following his appointment to Meridian Energy on 28 September, alongside his existing role at Port of Tauranga.

Alison Barrass CFInstD returns at 56th after joining the boards of Contact Energy and Summerset Group on 1 September. She previously ranked 17th in November 2025, when her Spark and Precinct Properties directorships qualified her for the table.

Garry Moore CMInstD enters at 58th after joining Savor on 29 September, with his former PGG Wrightson directorship still counting towards eligibility.

Cassandra Crowley MInstD enters at 59th following her appointment to Steel & Tube on 1 September, alongside her existing South Port directorship.

Datamine says these recent appointments currently contribute little to the directors' scores, which largely reflect their established directorships.

The Boardroom Table draws on data from more than 200 sources, including financial metrics, media perception and customer and employee sentiment. Datamine says it measures the relative impact a director has made on their company during their tenure.

The October 2026 full rankings are available at theboardroomtable.com.