Significant Leadership Changes are Confirmed by Seven West Media under the New Operating Model

A series of significant leadership changes have been disclosed by Seven West Media (SWM) Group under a "new operating model."

The media behemoth also announced on Wednesday the resignations of Lewis Martin, managing director of Seven Melbourne, chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette, and chief marketing officer Melissa Hopkins. The moves were made as part of a reorganization that included a new model "designed to deliver on the strategy that includes optimising its television business and delivering on the digital future."

SWM will be divided into three sections under the new model: Western Australia, Digital, and Television.

Angus Ross, the chief content officer for entertainment programming at Seven, has been named group MD for Seven Television, while Gereurd Roberts, the chief digital officer at SWM, has been made group MD for Seven Digital.

Maryna Fewster is still in charge of SWM's broadcast, internet, and print brands in Western Australia as CEO.

In the meanwhile, Craig Haskins, the interim chief financial officer, has been named chief financial officer, and Trent Dickeson, the current director of operations and transformation, has been named chief operating officer.

Seven announced that "a number of redundancies and other cost actions are being taken" as part of the adjustments, following reports of up to 150 job losses.

"We must alter the way we think and behave if we are to improve the media industry and take advantage of the possibilities that lie ahead. This entails altering the composition and dynamics of our executive team," Seven CEO Jeff Howard said.

"We are creating new profit centers for our digital and television business divisions that are open, responsible, and well-managed. We will ensure that we catch all of the growth that digital will bring thanks to the specialized, end-to-end digital business unit. With our content teams, Television and Digital will collaborate closely to make sure we take full advantage of the growing digital growth potential.

As they leave, Howard also said thanks to Burnette, Martin, and Hopkins.

"With our best wishes for their future, I would like to sincerely thank Kurt, Lewis, and Mel for their contributions to Seven," he stated.

They have over 65 years of combined experience at Seven, so it is always quite upsetting when such adjustments need to be made. But for now, we're concentrating on making sure Seven West Media's organizational structure aligns with our goals to maximize television, execute our digital future, discover new income sources, and responsibly control expenses.

Current CEO Jeff Howard (right) and former CEO James Warburton (left)

Additional announced management changes include Vikki Friscic, managing director of Seven Adelaide, assuming the newly established position of head of sales strategy and enablement, and Brook Hall, who was formerly Seven's director of content scheduling, being promoted to chief content officer.

The media behemoth is said to be adjusting to the termination of its multi-million dollar contract with Meta and the state of the advertising industry after the widespread layoffs were first announced this week.

According to reports, the changes were initially discussed in February by Jeff Howard, the then-CFO, and James Warburton, the then-CEO.

Just last week, during a parliamentary investigation into social media, Howard stated that the money from Seven's Meta agreement "has been used to fund the entire news operation and investment in platforms and content" and that, when the arrangement ends, he will be "looking across the board."

The report follows a run of scandals that Seven has faced recently, including an inquiry into an expenditures scandal and a former producer of Spotlight who said the media company paid for drugs, prostitutes, and other things in order to have an interview with Bruce Lehrmann.

Robert Ovadia, a crime reporter for Seven and sporadic newsreader, said last Friday that he had been fired after more than 23 years due to "inappropriate conduct" charges.

Prominent attorney John Laxon has been enlisted by Ovadia to contest the dismissal.