Seven boss James Warburton to stand down

Seven West Media chief executive officer and managing director James Warburton will leave the company at the end of the financial year, the company announced on Thursday morning.

In a statement to the ASX, Seven West chairman Kerry Stokes announced that the company’s chief financial officer Jeff Howard had been appointed as Warburton’s successor. The transition will commence on or before June 30, 2024.

James Warburton with Kerry Stokes.Credit: Peter Rae

Stokes said Warburton had helped steer the company through a difficult period, joining with the company’s share price at a then-record low of 38¢.

“I would like to thank James for his energy, enthusiasm and outstanding contribution. James came to SWM [Seven West Media] at a difficult time and has been immensely successful in reinvigorating Seven’s ratings, strengthening the balance sheet and setting Seven up for future success.”

Warburton has been chief executive of Seven since mid-2019. He succeeded Tim Worner.

In fiscal year 2023, Warburton brokered new long-term deals with both Cricket Australia and the AFL, alongside a content deal with US studio NBCUniversal, securing guaranteed eyeballs for years to come.

The company also recently splashed out on a near 20 per cent stake in radio-focused media company ARN worth up to $50 million, however Seven said a future takeover bid was not on the cards.

In 2022, Seven acquired regional media company Prime Media and its assets in a deal worth $132 million, creating a national media business and bringing to an end a multi-year takeover saga.

Since 2019, the company has reduced its debt from a near-$600 million to $249 million.

This was Warburton’s second stint at the Stokes-controlled media empire, working at Seven between 2003 and 2011, before departing in a high-profile move to rival network Channel Ten, which prompted a bitter legal fight.

After being sacked by Ten’s board in 2013 after just over a year in the job, he took roles as chief executive of V8 Supercars and outdoor media company APN, before eventually returning to Seven in 2019.

While Howard was not considered the favoured successor among industry spectators, it is not uncommon for a chief financial officer to be appointed into the top executive role. Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson moved from the same job to helm the nation’s biggest airline earlier this year. Seven’s chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette had been considered a top candidate for the role.

Sources close to Warburton, not authorised to speak publicly, said he was considering several opportunities outside the media after his departure in June.

Seven has experienced several PR challenges in 2023, including its links with disgraced soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, and more recently details emerging of a rental arrangement with former federal Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.

Stokes’ private company, Australian Capital Equity, funded Roberts-Smith’s failed multimillion-dollar defamation case against The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times through a loan agreement with the former soldier.

Last week, a judge ruled that thousands of emails between Seven West Media executives and Roberts-Smith’s legal team would be released to Nine following a dismissed appeal by Seven.

Sources close to Seven’s executive leadership, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the deals, say there has always been a clear delineation between Stokes and the company’s finances.

Seven said it will now conduct a search for a new chief financial officer.

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