CTM ran asylum seeker barges for the UK. Now its CEO has quit

The founder and managing director of the embattled Corporate Travel Management, Jamie Pherous, is stepping down with immediate effect, months after trading in its shares was halted and following a scandal over alleged over-charging of government clients.

CTM told the ASX on Monday morning that Pherous would retire from his executive and board positions, with chief commercial officer Ana Pedersen to act as chief executive of the travel agency. Pherous will move to an “advisory role” under a six-month consulting agreement with the company.

Chairman Ewen Crouch said the board had determined not was the “appropriate time to accelerate the transition to a refreshed corporate structure,” while acknowledging the problems the company has faced.

CTM shares have been suspended for months, after the company last year flagged accounting issues that included overcharging the UK government for services including housing asylum seekers on large-scale barges.

The company also holds the contract for managing Australian government travel. That deal has not been implicated in the overcharging scandal and there is no suggestion Pherous was involved in the broader issues.

More to come.

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