Good morning, and thank you for attending WiseTech's annual general meeting. I am Andrew Harrison, the Chair of the Board of WiseTech Global, and I will be serving as chair for this meeting. Before we begin the proceedings, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today and pay my respects to their elders past and present. On behalf of WiseTech Global, I welcome shareholders joining us at this virtual meeting. While this virtual online format may be the new normal for some shareholders, I appreciate that others may be less familiar. We have provided a virtual meeting online guide, which provides step-by-step instructions on how to vote and ask questions via the online platform or by telephone. You can access the online guide from the WiseTech Global website, wisetechglobal.com, by selecting Investors and then Annual General Meetings.
If you have a question that you would like to ask today, there are two ways to do so. First, you may type questions into the online platform. To do this, click Ask a Question and follow the prompts. There is a limit of 512 characters for written questions. To ensure you have enough time to type and submit your questions, I encourage you to start typing now instead of waiting until later in the meeting. Online questions that are relevant to the business of this meeting will be read aloud to me by a WiseTech staff member. We may aggregate questions if we receive multiple questions on the same topic. The second way to ask a question is by phone. To do so, you must enter your unique PIN, which should have been obtained from Link Market Services on request prior to the meeting.
If you don't have a phone PIN and would like to ask a question over the phone, please contact Link on 1800 990 363 now to receive a PIN. After you've dialed in, you will be asked to mute your computer and listen to the meeting by phone. If you wish to ask a question, press star one. The moderator will ask your name and will introduce you to the meeting at the relevant time. Please then unmute your phone and ask your question. We will first take questions received over the phone and then take questions from shareholders using the online platform. We will save asking each question until the relevant item of business. I'll now summarize the voting procedures. All items of business will be voted on by poll, which is now open.
If you did not cast your vote prior to the meeting, you may cast a live vote using the online platform. Please click Get a Voting Card, enter your shareholder details and follow the prompts. You may cast your live vote at any time during the meeting. Live voting on the online platform will close approximately 5 minutes after the close of the meeting. I will give you a warning when this 5-minute period starts. At the conclusion of the AGM, you will see a red bar appear along the top of the online platform with a countdown timer of how long you have remaining to cast your vote. You must be logged on to the platform to cast the live vote. You cannot cast a vote over the phone. If you experience any difficulties using the online platform, the helpline is displayed at the top of the page.
Please call 1800 990 363. If we experience any technical issues that impact the meeting, we apologize. I will assess the circumstances and, if necessary, the meeting will be adjourned and you'll be emailed instructions on how and when to rejoin the meeting. I would like to introduce those directors and officers who are attending the meeting today. Executive directors and founders Richard White and Maree Isaacs, and non-executive directors Teresa Engelhard, Charles Gibbon, Michael Gregg and Arlene Tansey, and our general counsel, Katrina Johnson, who will serve as secretary of the meeting. Also joining us today is Cueva Tooley from our auditors, KPMG. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of Cueva as regards the audit process and the independent auditor's report later in the meeting.
Notice of this meeting was provided to all shareholders, and I have been advised that we have a quorum present. Accordingly, I can confirm that this meeting has been properly convened. I will now take the opportunity to say a few words about our company and the operation of the board. I will then hand over to our founder and CEO, Richard White, who will talk about the business. Both of these addresses were recorded prior to the meeting. After these addresses, we'll commence the formal items of business. 2021 was another successful year for WiseTech as we delivered both strong financial performance and continued progress on our strategy to become the operating system for global logistics.
Today, I will touch on our financial performance, solid capital position and governance framework before I hand over to our Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Richard White, who will provide further detail on our strategic progress, including the six global rollouts we secured in FY 2021 and our recent signing of FedEx. To begin, I would note that the overall market conditions in global logistics in FY 2021 continued to be impacted by ongoing COVID restrictions, with consumer demand for services shifting to demand for goods, supported by various country-specific fiscal stimulus measures, boosting demand for global trade. However, limited sea freight capacity, port access issues, and container availability challenges, coupled with reduced air freight belly hold capacity caused by passenger travel restrictions, have resulted in constrained capacity, congestion, disruption, and higher freight rates.
While higher freight rates do not translate into immediate revenue growth for WiseTech, we are benefiting from the acceleration in longer term structural changes that these conditions create, in particular through digital transformation as logistics providers fast-track the replacement of their in-house legacy systems with integrated global software such as CargoWise. In the context of these market conditions, I am pleased to report that WiseTech reported another year of strong growth, delivering record revenue at the top end of our guidance and EBITDA exceeding guidance. Our business delivered total revenue of AUD 507.5 million for the year, representing 18% growth on FY 2020. Importantly, our CargoWise offering continued to achieve strong growth, delivering FY 2021 revenue of AUD 331.6 million, up 26% on FY 2020, reflecting increased usage by existing customers and growth from new customers.
Recurring revenue was strong, comprising 90% of our total revenue, up 1 basis point on FY 2020, providing us with a stable and predictable long-term revenue stream. CargoWise customer attrition rate remained below 1% for the ninth consecutive year. Our strategic acquisitions also contributed to our revenue growth, with revenue attributable to acquisitions up 6% in FY 2021 to AUD 175.9 million, which included the completion of one small strategic acquisition in Asia during the year. EBITDA in FY 2021 was AUD 206.7 million, up 63% on the prior year, and our EBITDA margin was strong at 41%, reflecting increasing operating leverage as revenue grows and cost reductions are achieved through organization-wide efficiencies and the extraction of acquisition synergies. I note that we have not received any material benefit from any COVID-19 government support programs globally.
Our statutory net profit after tax or NPAT for the year was AUD 108.1 million, down 33% on the prior year, reflecting fair value adjustments in FY 2020 from changes to acquisition contingent consideration. However, our FY 2021 underlying NPAT of AUD 105.8 million dollars was up 101% on the prior corresponding period, demonstrating the ability of our business model to deliver revenue growth and earnings expansion. Our financial position is robust, supported by a strong balance sheet and strong cash flows. Cash as at 30 June 2021 was AUD 315 million dollars, with no outstanding debt excluding lease liabilities.
We recently completed a refinancing of our debt facility and now have a new unsecured 4-year, AUD 225 million bilateral facility in place, supported by six banks, providing a solid financial foundation for future growth. Our operating cash flow of AUD 229.9 million was up 57% on FY 2020, and free cash flow of AUD 139.2 million was up 149% on FY 2020, demonstrating the highly cash generative nature of our business and the strength of WiseTech's underlying operating model. In recognition of the continued strength of WiseTech's business, the board declared a fully franked final dividend of AUD 0.0385 per share, up 141% on FY 2020.
Our total dividend for the year was AUD 0.0655 per share, representing a payout ratio of 20% of underlying NPAT. We continue to offer a dividend reinvestment plan that enables eligible shareholders to reinvest their dividends to acquire additional WiseTech shares. Our ongoing policy is to target a dividend payout ratio of up to 20% of NPAT. Turning now to developments with your board, which continues to evolve in order to best support WiseTech's needs. We are aligning the board composition to support the needs of our growing business. We have processes in place for board renewal and succession planning to ensure that the board's skill mix reflects the evolving needs of WiseTech, and that renewal is undertaken in a seamless manner to ensure corporate history and knowledge is retained.
I said in my address last year that we were working on recruiting new directors as part of our ongoing process of board renewal, and I am pleased to report that we recently announced the appointment of two new non-executive directors, Michael Malone and Richard Dammery, effective from 1 December 2021. On behalf of the board, I am delighted to welcome Richard and Michael to the WiseTech Global Group. Both Richard and Michael will be valuable additions to our board, bringing significant ASX experience, a wealth of corporate know-how, and solid understanding of the technology landscape in Australia. Michael is an Australian-based entrepreneur and founder of iiNet, with more than 20 years' experience across the technology, telecommunications, and media industries. He is also a non-executive director of ASX-listed Seven West Media Limited and NBN Co.
Richard is a non-executive director at Australia Post, Aussie Broadband Limited, and Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC, and was previously a senior executive and lawyer for over 30 years, including the position of chief legal officer and company secretary of Woolworths Group. In addition to board renewal and succession planning, we are committed to making a positive contribution to the communities that we are part of and recognize that our social license to operate is integral to our ability to create long-term value for our stakeholders. The board places significant importance on corporate social responsibility, culture, governance, and accountability. WiseTech's technology solutions have an important role to play in solving the complex pain points of the logistics industry and in enhancing productivity and efficiencies for logistics providers.
We have an outstanding team of over 1,800 people globally, spanning more than 60 nationalities and ranging in age from 18 to 74. We are proud of our highly diverse and inclusive workforce. Approximately 31% of our employees and 43% of our board members are female, and we remain committed to encouraging and supporting more women to enter the technology and logistics industries. During FY 2021, we worked on consolidating our ESG data and establishing a sustainability framework that is broadly guided by and references the Global Reporting Initiative, or GRI, sustainability reporting standards, an internationally recognized sustainability reporting framework. We will continue to involve and enhance our ESG disclosures over time. Before I hand over to Richard, I would like to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of our employees for their outstanding contributions throughout the year.
As I mentioned earlier, we have delivered a very strong FY 2021 performance, and the business is well-positioned for future growth. Our team has been instrumental in achieving this, and I would like to thank them for their outstanding efforts through the year. I would also like to acknowledge our CEO and founder, Richard White, for his inspiring leadership and vision. I extend my thanks to all directors for their continued commitment and insights from decades of experience, which is particularly valuable as WiseTech continues to grow. Finally, I would like to thank you, our shareholders, for your continued support and investment in WiseTech. I'll now hand over to Richard.
Thank you, Andrew, and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to report that WiseTech delivered another strong financial performance in the 2021 financial year, both in terms of strategic progress and financial returns. Integral to our performance are our people. They embody our culture of innovation, and our strong performance is a credit to their hard work and commitment, making me incredibly proud to be part of the WiseTech family. As Andrew mentioned, our total revenue for the year was AUD 507.5 million, up 18%, equating to 24% growth ex FX on the prior year. Of note was our strong CargoWise revenue growth, which at AUD 331.6 million was up 26% on FY 2020, equating to 31% growth ex FX. Strategically, this growth is significant.
First and foremost, it is indicative of the growing revenue contribution that our large global freight forwarder rollouts deliver, which will accelerate over time as rollouts progress and as we secure new global customers. Secondly, it is indicative of the fact that as we have expanded the CargoWise ecosystem, adding new capabilities, modules, and geographies, our existing customers have increased their usage, and we have secured new customer wins. Our top-line revenue growth, coupled with our organization-wide efficiencies and our extraction of acquisition synergies, has enabled us to achieve a marked step change in operating leverage, which is evident in our strong EBITDA performance. Our FY 2021 EBITDA was AUD 206.7 million, representing growth of 63% on FY 2020, and underlying NPAT AUD 105.8 million was up 101% on the prior year.
Our performance in FY 2021 should be looked at in the context of the broader market conditions we are operating in. It is fair to say that never have logistics and global supply chains been more critical and visible in ensuring the movement of goods around the world. We are seeing constrained capacity and congestion, resulting in logistics providers accelerating the replacements of in-house legacy systems with integrated global software that delivers efficiency, productivity enhancement, transparency, risk mitigation, and facilitates planning of their global operations. Exactly what CargoWise delivers. These market conditions are also driving increased consolidation within the sector, which you can see with the recently announced acquisition of J.F. Hillebrand by DHL and Greencarrier by JAS, as well as DSV's publicly announced interest in acquiring DB Schenker.
Typically, consolidation is driven by the larger global logistics providers, and we benefit to the extent that our customers are the acquirer or our platform is in place in the acquired business and adopted by the acquirer. The market buzz around other potential acquisitions shows an acceleration in appetite, size, and speed for consolidation among the top 200 global logistics providers that we regard as our target customers, which is good as an entree into an update on our strategic deliverables. Our strategy is designed to leverage these structural industry changes and deliver our vision of being the operating system for global logistics by focusing on the three Ps, product, penetration, and profitability. This entails building our capabilities and, where appropriate, fast-tracking our technology development and know-how through acquisitions.
Having completed 39 acquisitions since our IPO in 2016, we've assembled significant resources and development capabilities to fuel the CargoWise technology pipeline. While we remain open to significant strategic acquisition opportunities, we have slowed our near-term acquisition activity in order to focus on expanding the CargoWise ecosystem and on extracting synergies from the acquisitions to maximize operating leverage and drive scalability. Product development and innovation continue to be a priority in FY 2021. We invested AUD 167.1 million in R&D, equating to 33% of total revenue, and made significant progress in continuing to align our acquisition development teams to support our development priorities.
In addition, we established another center of excellence in Bangalore and recommenced recruitment of technology and industry talent following a short slowdown in the second half 2020 at the outset of COVID-19, leveraging our broad geographic footprint to recruit from the global talent pool. Our top development priority in FY 2021 was to accelerate native customs and cross-border compliance builds in key markets. As of 30th June 2021, the CargoWise native customs functionality was in production release across jurisdictions accounting for approximately 45% of manufactured trade flows, up from approximately 35% in FY 2020. We also completed the product integration of global rates functionalities secured via the CargoSphere and Cargoguide acquisitions onto the CargoWise platform. This integrated functionality is currently in production with several major customers and work has commenced on the native rewrite onto the CargoWise platform.
Additionally, 1,096 CargoWise new product features and enhancements were delivered throughout the year, and solid progress was made in extending CargoWise enterprise-wide functionalities such as automation and tracking from the adjacency businesses with customer integrations well advanced. Also of strategic note in FY 2021 was the deployment of the beta version of CargoWise Neo to a select group of beneficial cargo owners via existing WiseTech customers and the commencement of work on extending aspects of Neo for customer-specific needs. Neo is a longer-term development priority that will deliver a web-based integrated platform enabling BCOs to link directly with their logistics providers to plan, price, book, track, trace, and manage their freight. With the market penetration of fully digital and highly automated global logistics solutions still in the early stages, the opportunity for growth is vast.
Our market penetration approach is to target the top 25 global freight forwarders and the top 200 global logistics providers. This enables us to benefit from global rollouts and consolidation within the logistics sector as large customers acquire other industry players and add them to their rollout on the CargoWise platform. In FY 2021, we secured six new global rollouts and signed FedEx post 30 June 2021. These new global rollouts are in addition to the 30 existing rollouts that WiseTech already has in place. 10 of the top 25 global freight forwarders have rollouts on the CargoWise platform, either in production or are contracted and in progress. Given these large customers can take multiple years to roll out CargoWise across their sites globally, usage and transaction revenues are expected to continue to grow over time.
In FY 2021, we commenced work on an organization-wide efficiency and acquisition synergy extraction program designed to streamline our processes and teams, maximizing operating leverage and ensure appropriate allocation of resources to support scalability and delivery of our strategic vision. This program delivered a AUD 13.8 million net benefit in FY 2021 after recognizing AUD 8.2 million of restructuring costs, exceeding our previously announced AUD 10 million target. These cost reductions have partially offset our increased investment in product development and recruitment of technology specialists to support ongoing growth. We are on track to achieve a cost reduction run rate of around AUD 40 million for FY 2022, exceeding our previous AUD 20 million-AUD 30 million target.
Looking ahead, supply chain disruption, capacity constraints, and the outbreaks of new COVID-19 strains in key markets are likely to continue to impact global trade until there is a widespread rollout of vaccines. As noted in August at the time of our FY 2021 results, subject to the assumptions set out in the WiseTech FY 2021 results presentation, we anticipate FY 2022 revenue growth of 18%-25%, representing revenue of AUD 600 million-AUD 635 million, and EBITDA growth of 26%-38%, representing AUD 260 million-AUD 285 million. We are ideally positioned for continued growth and further market penetration. We have a well-considered, comprehensive plan to deliver on our strategic objectives and our strong balance sheet, strong cash flows, and robust liquidity mean we have significant financial firepower to fund our growth.
On behalf of the WiseTech Global team, I thank each of our shareholders for your investment and support. We have an exciting future with many growth opportunities ahead of us. There has never been a greater need for the globally integrated logistics technology that CargoWise provides. Our vision inspires our people, and we remain focused on R&D that delivers breakthrough products that enable and empower those that own and operate the supply chains of the world. I will now hand back to Andrew for the formal business of the meeting.
Thank you, Richard. Now to the formal business of the meeting. I understand that shareholders present today, together with validly appointed proxies and direct votes submitted prior to the meeting, account for approximately 90% of the company's issued share capital. Voting on the items to be considered at this meeting will be by poll. Please refer to the virtual meeting online guide for instructions on how to submit your votes. The voting platform is open now and will remain open until a few minutes after the meeting has closed to allow time for you to submit your votes. In line with good governance practices, I intend to disclose the proxy votes for each resolution. This will be done before the discussion on each item so that shareholders attending this meeting are aware of the intentions of shareholders who have voted by proxy.
As Chair, I intend to vote all available proxies in favor of each resolution. The items of business for today's meeting are set out in the notice of annual general meeting. I intend to take the resolutions and supporting materials provided in the notice as read. We will now turn to the first formal item of business to consider the financial report for the year ended 30 June 2021. We'll take questions or comments on the directors' report, financial statements, and independent auditor's report. As a board, we are constantly seeking to improve shareholder communication, and we hope that you will take the opportunity today to engage with us and ask any questions that you may have. As previously noted, the KPMG audit partner will be available to answer any questions you may have on the audit process or on the auditor's report.
I ask that you reserve any questions on the remuneration report for the next item. Are there any questions or comments on item one, the financial statements and reports or the business and operations of WiseTech?
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. If you are on a speaker phone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. There are no phonetic questions at this time.
Chair, we do have a question that's come through online. This question is asked by Ben Blair. ASX companies in the past have seen much success in taking up a dual listing on larger exchanges with larger reach, such as the Nasdaq. This can create exceptional shareholder value as the shares are more widely available to the rest of the world. Would a dual listing for WiseTech shares be something the board would consider?
Well, thank you, Ben. That's indeed an interesting question. Look, I think it might be interesting, Richard, for you to provide some thoughts on this.
Indeed. I obviously thought about this very deeply before we listed. When we listed, we gave very deep consideration and thought to the appropriate stock exchange to list on. We decided that the ASX was the appropriate stock exchange for WiseTech, and we currently have a good mix of international and domestic investors. At this stage, we believe the ASX continues to be an appropriate exchange for us to be listed on that provides adequate access to capital for domestic and international investors.
Thank you, Richard.
We have more questions that have come through. This question is asked by Chris Lloyd from Teaminvest, the member Intelligent Investor. What is the status of the court action brought by Mondiale VGL claiming overcharging by WiseTech? As an aside, you must be pleased with the reference that Mondial provided. CargoWise has substantial market power in the platform market. The cost to change from that platform involves high switching costs, and there are few, if any, equivalent alternatives in the platform market.
Oh, again, thank you, Chris, for the question. Look, it's not appropriate for me to make a comment in a public forum on this, about a dispute with a customer where we have current legal proceedings on foot. I'm unable to provide any specific comment on this. I do note that occasionally we do have disagreements with our customers, and we work constructively with those customers to resolve them in the most efficient way possible.
Another question asked by Chris Lloyd. Panasonic, which recently acquired Blue Yonder, has a vision for an autonomous end-to-end supply chain that will be achieved by combining Panasonic's sensing technologies and edge devices with Blue Yonder's logistics software. Does this represent a threat to WiseTech's business plan to be the platform of choice for the logistics industry?
Thanks again, Chris, for that question. There are some very interesting things happening in our market. Why don't I ask you, Richard, to provide some comment?
Yes, thank you. I've watched that acquisition and those commentaries with interest, but I think they're talking about quite a different issue and a different segment of the market. Obviously, WiseTech competes with a range of companies, depending on the geography and the market segment you're looking at. CargoWise is one of the very few logistics software platforms with a truly integrated SaaS-based global supply chain solution that enables customers to manage their logistics and supply chain offering across all the freight modes, many countries and all the regions on one database. That's a really big differentiator and a very powerful statement. It's in contrast to some of those comments that were made previously. If in the freight forwarding industry, you know, WiseTech's largest opportunity remains replacing aging in-house proprietary systems, and it's really still an enormous marketplace for us.
In the customs and border compliance area, in which we have a substantial foothold with the CargoWise offering with a truly global product and architecture, our competitors tend to be domestic-based in a single country or in a small number of countries, or very partial solutions. While there are always tools and technologies and pieces that sit around us and are available to us to integrate, I don't see that particular aspect of Panasonic's Blue Yonder's comments as anything other than enhancing the capabilities of the global supply chain.
Thank you, Richard.
We have one more question asked by Chris Lloyd. WiseTech has been accused of being slow to integrate acquisitions because it fails to devote resources to integration. To provide more transparency, WiseTech might like to give consideration to table acquisitions, which would include acquisition date, status integration of CargoWise, integration completion date, and customer churn, status of earn-out payments.
Okay. Thanks again, Chris, for that question. Acquisitions, as all shareholders know, have been an important part of our strategy as we build out our global capability. Again, Richard, would you care to comment on the question?
Yes. I think the first thing to really think about here is that these strategic investments are designed to build in-house capabilities and, where appropriate, to fast-track the development of these key technologies and using the know-how that we've gained through those acquisitions. They're interrelated and very complementary, and many of them actually relate to the, what we call the customer's foothold problem set. As such, they should be looked at holistically rather than on a piecemeal basis. In fact, trying to look at them piecemeal at this stage would be very difficult because much of their capabilities, particularly in the foothold businesses, have already been moved across to the CargoWise One platform. You know, we've got significant resources and development capability to fuel that CargoWise technology pipeline, and we're progressing well with these integrations.
What you have to really think about here is the CargoWise ecosystem. The integrations that we're doing are actually about rebuilding capabilities that we acquired into native capabilities into CargoWise. As I've said on many investor calls and in previous market commentaries, this is about the platform, the ecosystem. That is where all of the value is being accreted. Yes, we're running those businesses well, and those businesses continue to generate significant revenue. CargoWise is in fact the growth engine. CargoWise is where all of the effort is being placed. Even this year, we're bringing more of those resources into line with CargoWise development and driving that development further and faster.
Good. Thank you, Richard.
Chair, there are no further questions for this item.
Thank you for those questions. I believe that covers the discussion on this topic. As a vote is not required on this item, we'll now move on to the remaining items of business. Items two to six are each ordinary resolutions, which will be passed if more than 50% of the votes cast are in favor of the resolution. Item seven is a special resolution, which will be passed if more than 75% of the votes cast are in favor of the resolution. We will now turn to item two, the remuneration report. The Corporations Act requires that the remuneration report is put to a vote of shareholders. The remuneration report can be found on pages 68-86 of our 2021 annual report and is taken as read.
The board, with cofounders and executive directors Richard and Maree abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of adopting the remuneration report. However, directors and key management personnel named in the report and their closely related parties cannot vote on this resolution given their personal interest. As stated in the notice of meeting, this resolution is advisory only and is non-binding. However, the board will take the outcome of the vote and any discussion on this item into consideration when reviewing the remuneration policy for directors and senior executives. The slide now on screen shows the proxy votes as of 10 A.M. on Wednesday, 17th November. Are there any questions or comments on item two, the adoption of the remuneration report?
There are no phonetic questions at this time.
Chair, there are no online questions at this time.
Thank you. As there are no questions, we will now turn to item three, the election of Director Andrew Harrison. As you will be aware from the notice of meeting, I am retiring from the board in accordance with the company's constitution and offer myself for re-election. While this process is underway, I will hand the chair of the meeting over to Teresa Engelhard, who is the chair of our nomination committee. Before I hand the chair to Teresa, though, I'd like to say a few words. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to shareholders today to seek your support for my re-election as an independent non-executive director of your company.
I joined the WiseTech board in 2015 ahead of the company's IPO and served as the chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for 3 years before being appointed chair of the board in September 2018. The same reasons that initially attracted me to the company, its great culture of innovation, outstanding suite of products, strong market position, and exciting future prospects still ring true today. In terms of my background, I'm a chartered accountant by training, and during my executive life, worked in the profession, investment banking, private equity, and as a senior finance executive for a number of large companies.
Since 2013, I've spent the majority of my time working as a non-executive director, serving on a number of ASX boards over that time, including chairing the ASX 200 leading auto parts distributor, Bapcor Limited, from which I recently retired. I've also worked with a number of technology companies in that time, including chairing Vend Limited, a New Zealand-based retail point-of-sale software business, which was sold earlier this year to a major Canadian software company. During my time as Chair of WiseTech, we have continued to show our track record of year-on-year revenue growth and strong cash generation. We've demonstrated how we are successfully delivering on our strategy with continued commitment to building out our leading CargoWise technology, securing new global rollout customer wins, and delivering long-term sustainable growth. Today, WiseTech is very well-positioned and has an exciting future in front of it.
I'm grateful for the opportunity to be reelected and subject to your support, we look forward to continuing to serve on your board. Thank you. I will now hand the chair of the meeting over to Teresa.
Thank you, Andrew. Item three is the reelection of Andrew Harrison as a director. The board has undertaken a review of Andrew's performance, with Andrew abstaining, and recommends that shareholders vote in favor of his reelection to the board. The board considers Andrew to be an independent director. The slide being shown on the screen now shows the proxy votes as at 10:00 A.M. on Wednesday, the 17th of November. I will now open the discussion relating to this item. Are there any questions or comments on item three, the election of Andrew Harrison?
There are no phonetic questions at this time.
There are no online questions.
As there are no questions, I will now hand the chair back to Andrew Harrison for the remaining items of business.
Thank you, Teresa. We will now turn to item four, the election of non-executive director, Teresa Engelhard. Teresa joined the WiseTech board in 2018 and serves as Chair of People and Remuneration Committee and the Nomination Committee. I will now ask Teresa to say a few words to the meeting.
Thank you, Chair, and good morning, everyone. Today, I'm seeking your support for election to a second 3-year term as a director of WiseTech. I've spent more than 25 years focused on growth technology companies as an operating executive, a venture capitalist, and a board member in Silicon Valley and in Australia. Before that, I was with McKinsey & Company. My board experience began as a VC in the late 1990s, and I've been a director of more than a dozen technology companies. My focus has been on software, communications, photonics, and new energy technology. In addition to WiseTech, my ASX board experience includes Origin Energy and Redbubble. An early and sustained love for science and creativity has underpinned my career-long focus on innovation, and I've been fortunate to have learned from a number of great entrepreneurs in addition to Richard White.
For example, Andy Grove, Intel's well-known early CEO at Stanford Business School, Bill Davidow, Intel's head of marketing for Andy Grove and a founder of MDV, where I began my career in venture, and Elon Musk, whose first venture was funded by MDV. Leveraging applied physics from Caltech, I was one of the first VCs to focus on investments in optical communications infrastructure, including ONI Systems, which achieved a $5 billion IPO in 4 years. I was an architect of the business plan and joined ONI's executive team to eventually become the VP of Software Solutions of the U.S.-listed entity. After 7 years in executive leadership roles in the U.S., upon moving to Australia in 2006, I returned to investing in board roles, including as a managing partner at Jolimont Capital and a director at Planet Innovation, Daintree Networks, and Redbubble.
Currently, I spend the balance of my time outside of WiseTech leading a stealth mode venture, which I founded in 2020. Keep an eye out for StickyTech, a developer of tech-enabled products for primary schoolers, which boosts learnings through hands-on pro-social play. At WiseTech, I bring a pragmatic and balanced approach to governance underpinned by long-term strategic thinking, a value creation mindset, and hands-on operating experience. My contributions over the past 3 years include chairing the Nominations Committee since May of 2018 and chairing the People and Remuneration Committee since April of 2019. I've enjoyed being part of WiseTech's exceptional team, and I would be honored to continue to support your company's future growth. Thank you.
Thank you, Teresa. The board has undertaken a review of Teresa's performance and, with Teresa abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of her election to the board. The board considers Teresa to be an independent director. The slide now on screen shows the proxy votes on this item. I will now open the discussion. Are there any questions or comments on item four, the election of Teresa Engelhard?
There are no phonetic questions at this time.
There are no online questions, Chair.
As there are no questions, we will now turn to item five, the election of Non-Executive Director Charles Gibbon. Charles joined the WiseTech Board in 2006, served as Chair from 2006 to 2018, and has been a shareholder since 2005. His long association with the company brings considerable corporate knowledge and experience to the board table. I will now ask Charles to say a few words to the meeting.
Thank you, Chair, and good morning to our shareholders. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to address you today and to seek your support for my re-election as an independent non-executive director of your company. I am privileged to have been a part of the WiseTech journey for over 15 years, having served as chair for 12 of those years. In my time with WiseTech, the company has evolved from a modest Australian-centric business into what is now the dominant global logistics platform used by many of the largest international freight forwarders. Supporting this growth has been the targeted acquisition of over 40 businesses that has extended our global reach and enhanced our product functionality. The operating results over recent times highlight the strength and sustainability of the CargoWise platform.
WiseTech has earned its now prominent place in the global logistics ecosystem through its deep knowledge of the industry and its commitment to long-term product research and development. It has been a privilege for me to have been on that journey. I am currently a director of Shearwater Capital, which specializes in venture funding and have previously been a director of other digital businesses. My earlier experience was in institutional funds management and private equity. Building businesses is what I like to do. I believe my experience and deep knowledge of the WiseTech business and the logistics industry are an asset to the board. By any analysis, the future is exciting for your company. As the world emerges from COVID-19 and supply chains increasingly move to digitalization, the opportunities for WiseTech are both tangible and sustainable.
I remain committed and focused about serving your board and subject to your vote, I look forward to continuing to make a valuable contribution to your company as we build on the opportunities ahead of us and drive value for our shareholders. Thank you for your attention and for the opportunity to address you today.
Thank you, Charles. The board has undertaken a review of Charles' performance and with Charles abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of his election to the board. The board considers Charles to be an independent director. The slide now on screen shows the proxy votes on this item. I will now open the discussion. Are there any questions or comments on item five, the election of Charles Gibbon?
There are no phonetic questions at this time.
Chair, there are no online questions.
As there are no questions, we will now turn to item six, non-executive directors remuneration. This item seeks shareholder approval to increase the non-executive director remuneration limit to AUD 1.8 million per annum, an increase of AUD 300,000. For clarity, an increase to the remuneration limit does not automatically translate to an increase in board fees. The proposed increase to the remuneration limit is intended to allow flexibility for market increases in the future for existing non-executive directors and provide the board with capacity to appoint additional non-executive directors to support our business objectives and long-term growth strategy, and importantly, better succession planning and continuity with the capacity to appoint new directors before the retirement of existing directors. In this regard, I've already mentioned this morning that Richard Dammery and Michael Malone will join the board in December as independent non-executive directors.
Given the interest of each non-executive director in this matter, Richard White and Maree Isaacs, as executive directors, have recommended that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. I will now open the discussion. Are there any questions or comments on item six, non-executive directors remuneration?
There are no phonetic questions at this time.
There are no online questions.
As there are no questions, we will now turn to item seven, the amendment of the constitution. This item concerns proposed amendments to the company's constitution. The primary amendment is to clarify that the board may hold a meeting of shareholders using any technology that gives shareholders as a whole a reasonable opportunity to participate. This will provide the board with greater flexibility to hold hybrid meetings or fully virtual meetings in the future. We have also taken the opportunity to clarify and simplify the direct voting provisions, clarify the board's ability to change, postpone, or cancel a general meeting, and an update to reflect the ASX Listing Rules in relation to restricted securities. The board recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. The slide now on screen shows the proxy votes. I will now open the discussion.
Are there any questions or comments on item seven, amendments to the constitution?
There are no phonetic questions at this time.
Chair, there are no online questions.
Thank you. As we have now concluded all the items of business, I would like to remind you to submit your votes via the online platform, which will remain open for about 5 minutes after the close of the meeting. The results of the poll will be announced via the ASX and posted on our website this afternoon. That concludes the business of the meeting. Before we close the meeting, I'll just check, are there any remaining questions? Are there any questions on the phone?
There are no phonetic questions at this time.
Thank you. Are there any remaining online questions?
Chair, there are no remaining online questions.
Okay. I'd like to thank all our shareholders for your attendance and participation today, and I declare this meeting closed.