The secret relationship, the $40 million legal fight and the corporate cop’s latest case

September 21, 2026 — 5:37pm

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Well, you can’t say they weren’t warned.

When luxury whitegoods retailer Winning Group appointed former Super Retail boss Anthony Heraghty as chief executive last month, they knew he came with baggage.

They knew he had conducted a secret relationship with the company’s head of human resources. They knew he had allegedly lied about the relationship to the board and the market. They knew that the board had burnt $40 million in legal bills seeking to defend his lie and destroy the reputation of two senior women who attempted to expose it.

They knew he was eventually dumped by Super Retail Group for misleading the company. And they knew that, even as Heraghty’s appointment was announced, the corporate watchdog was still probing Super Retail Group’s handling of whistleblower complaints.

So Winning Group can hardly be surprised that, within weeks of Heraghty getting his feet under the desk, the decision to hire him spectacularly imploded. On Monday........

© The Sydney Morning Herald