The humiliating saga for a highly paid master of the universe

June 30, 2026 — 4:18pm

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The Australian chapter of giant private equity firm TPG has become a controversy magnet. The firm was already reeling from recent but robustly denied accusations from a former executive that it had a culture of binge drinking and drug taking, and on Tuesday chief executive Joel Thickins pleaded guilty to negligent driving and refusing to take an alcohol blood test.

TPG expressed its “disappointment” that Thickins was “involved in a car collision”. That sounds like a very understanding/restrained/understated position from TPG, given a judge noted that “apart from killing or maiming people while driving, his [Thickins’] conduct could not have been worse.”

One can only wonder about the fate of, let’s say, the chief executive of BHP or Wesfarmers, if they had been arrested after drunk-driving into several parked cars late one evening and then........

© The Sydney Morning Herald