Wal King slams talk he was pushed

Leighton Holdings Ltd chief executive Wal King has rejected media reports he was
forced out of his role.
At a media conference on Monday, Mr King labelled as "crap" a report in The
Financial Review that said he had been "forced" to leave and that Leighton's largest
shareholder Hochtief wanted the company to re-focus on construction and move away
from mining contracting.
"The speculation has been frankly so intense and so often ill informed that we
thought it was appropriate to make an announcement," chairman David Mortimer told
reporters.
"We had planned to announce this at the AGM (annual general meeting), but with all
the speculation coming forward we thought now was the right time."
Mr King's career has certainly had its fair share of headline-grabbing moments.
He last year responded to queries about his successor by taking a swipe at US-born
chief executives working in Australia on big salaries - apparently eluding to former
Telstra boss Sol Trujillo, a US citizen whose top annual remuneration while in
Australia was $13.4 million.
Mr King himself received over $12.5 million in the 2008/09 financial year, down 24
per cent on the previous 12 months, according to the company's annual report.
"About all I can say to you is that it won't be any high-flying American parachuted
in at outrageous salaries that make mine look like chicken feed, stay for two years
and fill up the jumbo jet and leave," Mr King said in November.
The comments came amid heightened scrutiny of executive salary packages as the
global financial crisis ground on.
By any measure, Mr King has overseen phenomenal growth at Leighton during his time
at the helm.
The company's market capitalisation grew from $85 million in 1987 when he became
chief executive to more than $10 billion currently.
During his reign, revenue increased almost 15-fold while net profit jumped 87-fold.
So it's little wonder the company will continue to consult the straight-talking
executive after he steps down from the board on January 1 next year.
"When I joined the company, I couldn't have envisaged the journey I was embarking
on," Mr King said on Monday.