Nine chief executive officer quits

Nine Entertainment chief executive Mike Sneesby will step down from his role at the end of the month, the network has confirmed.

“Following the successful completion of the Olympics and the Paralympics, Mr Sneesby and the Board consider now is the right time for a transition of leadership to take Nine into the next phase of its strategic transformation,” Nine said in a statement to investors on Thursday.

Matt Stanton, chief finance and strategy officer, will be the acting chief executive after Mr Sneesby’s departure.

Nine chair Catherine West pointed to Mr Sneesby’s achievements as guiding the company out of the pandemic, securing the rights to the Olympic Games through to 2032 and progressing strategic and cultural transformations at Nine.

“I thank Mike for the significant contribution to Nine over more than a decade,” Mr West said in the ASX announcement.

In an email to staff obtained by Sky News, Mr Sneesby told colleagues this year had been one of the “most challenging of my career”.

The last new months have marked a turbulent period for Nine.

Publishing staff went on strike over pay on the eve of the Paris Olympics, which the network had paid $305m to secure the rights for in a deal that included the 2028 and 2032 Games.

The chief executive was criticised for carrying the Olympic torch in the lead up to the strike, and shortly after the 200 redundancies were announced.

85 staff were cut from The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review last month, as part of the axing of 200 jobs across the Nine group.

Long-time Nine board member and former federal treasurer Peter Costello resigned in June, after he was involved in an altercation with a News Corp reporter at an airport, where the reporter ended up falling.

The reporter had been asking Mr Costello about allegations of inappropriate behaviour by former senior news boss Darren Wick.

This week Nine’s human resources boss Vanessa Morley said an external review of the company’s workplace culture – including a look at the news and current affairs division – would be delivered at the end of October.

Mr Sneesby’s resignation is effective September 30.

“It has been a privilege to lead this business but now is the right time to hand over to a new leader,” Mr Sneesby said in the ASX announcement.

“I take great pride in the achievements of the company during my time as chief executive

and thank the board, the leadership team and everyone at Nine for their support during my tenure.”

Revenue for Channel 9 and 9 Now fell 10 per cent this year, costs ticked up less than inflation and pre-tax earnings slumped 32 per cent.

As a whole, the radio, publishing and broadcast company’s profit fell 22 per cent this year.

Executive bonuses were cut as the company failed to hit financial targets set by the board. Nine Entertainment shares are down 37 per cent on this time last year.

As well as the Olympics deal, Mr Sneesby oversaw retention of free-to-air NRL broadcasting, and subscription growth at Nine’s newspapers and streaming service Stan.

Before becoming group chief executive, Mr Sneesby had been in charge of Stan since its 2013 inception, seeing the streamer through to profitability and reaching two million subscribers.

Before Nine, Mr Sneesby worked in digital media, technology and telecommunications in Australia, Asia and the US.

Incoming interim chief executive, Mr Stanton, will oversee a recruitment process for the next boss.