Did CBA boss Matt Comyn’s marriage breakdown meet the public interest test?

August 20, 2026 — 3:45pm

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When investment firm Magellan’s co-founder and major shareholder Hamish Douglass separated from his wife in 2021, the media’s publication of the news was considered controversial. It was justified, in part, because it might result in the sale of a swathe of his shareholding and control of the company could change.

Douglass was never a household name outside the business community, but inside the finance goldfish bowl he was a public figure and the impact any large share sale would have on other Magellan investors was significant.

He was the talisman for his company, and many of its clients had been in his thrall. In the world of funds management, Douglass was a celebrity.

Fast-forward to this week’s news that Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn is separating from his wife of a couple of decades – an event which raises the question whether, or at what point, does any executive’s private life become fair game.

From the outset that justification for........

© The Age