Seven CEO James Warburton departs network
James Warburton, the chief executive and managing director of Seven West Media, left the company on Thursday, amid a tumultuous period for the broadcaster.
The prominent media executive was due to step down before the end of the financial year, according to executive changes first announced late last year.
Seven did not immediately respond to questions on Thursday as to whether there had been any adjustment to the timing of the transition.
The company’s chief financial officer, Jeff Howard, will take over the chief executive role on Friday.
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Seven West’s chairman, Kerry Stokes, thanked Warburton “for his contribution to the business over many years” in an announcement to the stock exchange.
Howard takes the helm at a difficult period for broadcasters and traditional print outlets, due to a global downturn in advertising linked to inflationary costs.
Seven is part-way through a costsaving initiative, worth tens of millions of dollars, that it has indicated would be expanded if the advertising market remains weak.
Seven’s revenues are primarily driven by television ads which are influenced by its market share of viewers.
Warburton has been CEO at the network since mid-2019.
Seven West Media, which operates the Seven Network and West Australian Newspapers, has been entangled in a number of recent controversies, which include allegations made during a defamation trial that the network reimbursed Bruce Lehrmann for money spent on cocaine and sex workers. Seven has denied the claims.
Separately, a Sydney man who was wrongly named on air by Seven News as the Bondi Junction killer has hired a lawyer and is seeking damages from the network.