The CEO of media and entertainment giant Nine will be gone by month’s end. His departure comes in the wake of Nine releasing its annual report, which showed net profit had fallen 31% in a year to $134.9 million.

“Recently when our Board opened a discussion with me about my tenure, we agreed that the timing was right to commence a leadership transition,” Sneesby said in a Nine statement “authorised for lodgement by the Board of Directors of Nine”.

“With commitments around Nine’s full-year financial results completed and Nine having successfully delivered the  world-class coverage of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, the Board and I agreed now was the best time for a transition to commence.” 

Sneesby faced flak for attending the Olympic Games in the wake of announcing that hundreds of staff would be made redundant.

Nine’s share price has fallen 57% during Sneesby’s tenure, per AFR.

 

 

Chief Finance and Strategy Officer, Matt Stanton, has been appointed as acting Chief Executive Officer, as of October 1. The company will start recruiting for the next CEO.

“It has been a privilege to lead this business but now is the right time to hand over to a new leader. I take great pride in the achievements of the company during my time as CEO and thank the Board, the leadership team and everyone at Nine for their support during my tenure,” Sneesby said.

“Together, we have navigated significant change in the media landscape in Australia. I firmly believe Nine is Australia’s best media business, with premium assets and the sector’s leading media professionals.”

 

Nine chart for the past 12 months.

 

Nine Chair, Catherine West, thanked Sneesby “for his significant contribution to Nine over more than a decade. As Chief Executive Officer, his achievements include guiding the company out of the challenging COVID-19 pandemic, securing the rights to the Olympic Games through to 2032 and progressing the strategic and cultural transformation of Nine”.

She said Sneesby had made an “immense contribution to the success of [streaming service] Stan … with more than two million paying subscribers”.

She said Stanton would – for the next fortnight at least – “work closely with Mike to ensure a smooth handover”.