Updated ,first published
The chief executive of the newly merged company that owns the Seven Network and radio stations including Triple M has exited on the same day its new chair, Heath Mackay-Cruise, started in the role.
Southern Cross Media announced on Monday evening, less than 18 hours before its financial results come out, that its current chief executive and former Seven West boss Jeff Howard would be departing effective immediately.
A statement posted to the ASX after the market’s closure said John Kelly, who was Southern Cross chief executive prior to the deal’s completion, will step in as interim head of the company’s TV and audio divisions and front its earnings call tomorrow.
Kelly had been selected after the merger to run the audio division of the company, which includes Triple M, the Hit Network and digital audio platform LiSTNR. He has now been asked to run the whole company on a permanent basis, said one source familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He is considering the offer, the source said.
Heath Mackay-Cruise assumed the role of chair on Friday evening after Kerry Stokes, the long-time controlling shareholder of Seven West Media, stepped down as interim chair. The Stokes family’s shareholding in Southern Cross after the merger the deal was diluted to 20 per cent, via its majority-owned Seven Group Holdings.
Mackay-Cruise will also now assume the position of executive chair, with the company’s top leaders reporting to him, while Southern Cross appoints a CEO on a permanent basis.
Mackay-Cruise said in a statement that he and the newly constituted board determined it was the appropriate time to appoint new leadership. Howard was only made chief executive and managing director of the combined company in January.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Jeff for his efforts across the period of transition, with the successful implementation of the scheme of arrangement [for the merger] and creation of a market-leading, multi-platform media company now complete,” Mackay-Cruise said.
The board also made its interim chief financial officer Toby Potter its chief transformation officer for TV and audio.
“The board is confident in our team’s capability to apply the financial discipline and industry leading expertise to drive scale and performance for Southern Cross Media Group going forward,” Mackay-Cruise said.
Mackay-Cruise is a former boss of early childhood learning companies and was chief executive of Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd in New Zealand.
A market update from Seven two weeks ago said the TV division missed its previous market guidance due to poor advertising conditions. The fact that Ashes Test matches in Perth and Melbourne lasted only two days had impacted expected advertising revenue, the company said.
When the merger was announced in September, the combined value of both companies was $415 million, bringing together television, radio and publishing assets, which included The West Australian.
Six months later $100 million has been wiped off the value of the company. It closed with a market capitalisation of $316 million on Monday.
Television advertising has been in a prolonged downturn. Seven’s share price sat at $0.13 by the time it was delisted from the ASX, having peaked at $15 in 2007.
Southern Cross will deliver its half-year results on Tuesday morning. Howard was contacted for comment.
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Calum Jaspan is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect via X or email.
