Inside the internecine world of Bubs Australia

Inside the internecine world of Bubs Australia

Myriam Robin Columnist

Jun 28, 2023 – 6.07pm

The world of Bubs Australia is nothing if not claustrophobic. And rendered ever more so by the duelling lawsuits now running alongside a bitter battle for corporate control.

Joe Hockey’s cross-border facilitators at Bondi Partners are the latest to be dragged into the furore, as the current Bubs board alleges former chief Kristy Carr failed to tell the board of a $US900,000 bonus payment in Bondi Partners’ contract with the infant formula maker.

Even before the cross-claim was publicly released on Wednesday, Bondi Partners had felt the dispute’s impact in the departure of its senior adviser Mark Rudder.

Chelsey Martin helped the company secure a rare permit to have its formula sold in the United States. Getty

Rudder has for years been an adviser to Bubs through lobbying and PR shop GRACosway (which he co-founded). From its formation in 2020, he’s also been the chairman of Bondi Partners, before transitioning to a senior advisor role. This cross-pollination proved fortuitous for the infant formula company when Rudder introduced then-CEO Carr to Bondi’s Chelsey Martin, who helped the company secure a rare permit to have its formula sold in the United States.

These days, though, Rudder’s doing pro bono PR work for Carr. So in the interests of propriety, he paused his work for Bondi. Which, after all, is still working for Bubs.

It’s hard to see any firm appreciating having the terms of its commercial contracts spelled out in a lawsuit. Still, Bubs’ relations with its US consultants must be miles more cordial than with its Chinese partners AZ Global. Bubs says AZ owes it $5.7 million, while chief Andy Zhang has thrown in the shares he received from partnering with Bubs into trying to overthrow the board alongside Carr and other now-dissidents.

Another contractor – albeit former – taking sides in the great Bubs war is current chair Kathrina Rathie, who (through King & Wood Mallesons) used to do legal work for the company. In 2021, now-ousted executive chair Dennis Lin liked her enough to invite her on to the board.

These close interconnections might explain some of the sheer acrimony in the dispute. After all, knife fights are always messy.