Village Roadshow’s new CEO Clark Kirby unlikely to end family feud

Village Roadshow’s sudden appointment of a new CEO is unlikely to end tensions inside its founding family.

New Village Roadshow CEO Clark Kirby. Picture: Adam Head

Leisure company Village Roadshow has surprised investors with the sudden appointment of theme parks boss Clark Kirby as chief executive, but the move is unlikely to end the ructions that have divided the cinema and parks group’s founding family.

Village unveiled what it termed a “streamlined” structure that will see Clark’s father, Robert Kirby, step down as executive chairman.

Robert will remain on the board, with the group to take on an independent non-executive chairman, as will his brother John, whose post as deputy chairman has also gone.

The pair control about 42 per cent of the stock through a vehicle shared with long-serving chief executive Graham Burke.

But John Kirby has pushed for corporate governance reform and a sell-off of non-core units, as well as privately advocating for an independent chief executive to replace Mr Burke and for his brother to step down.

This push gained momentum after a badly received market update last Friday as Village’s shares plunged from $3.30, and they closed down by 1c at $2.81 on Thursday after the changes.

Investors were unhappy after the market update, citing the board’s poor attitude towards governance and Robert’s performance on the day.

John Kirby and a major investor, who wrote a three-page letter received on Wednesday, called for his exit, and sources said Thursday’s board meeting was fiery.

Village announced that Clark Kirby would succeed Mr Burke and would start on January 1.

The company would now kick off a search for an independent non-executive chairman, using an external search firm.

The hope of resolving the conflict lies in taking away the potential for Clark to report to Robert as chairman but the freshly minted chief executive is bullish about his heritage.

“We are at our essence entertainers and innovators,” he told The Australian, saying he had been working around the business since five years of age before a career path that took him into technology and banking.

Clark claimed credit for turning around the company’s Gold Coast theme parks by focusing on higher yielding visitors and said this area and cinema exhibition would be growth areas.

He acknowledged there was feedback about potential conflicts of interest between having his father as executive chairman and himself as chief executive.

“We did listen to that,” he said, adding the group hoped the changes would go a “long way” to allaying concerns and bringing stability to the board.

But this may not be enough to satisfy John Kirby, with senior sources suggesting the independent board members should explain why they abandoned an earlier board-approved search for a chief executive.

The company said Clark Kirby’s knowledge of its divisions and his professional experience, made him the “most appropriate” appointment.

Village added it was “well advanced” in the search for a new independent director.

Meanwhile it will retain a lead independent director — former UBS banker Tim Antonie — until a new chairman is appointed.

As well as taking on responsibility for the whole company, Clark Kirby will also remain heading the theme park.

“It’s better than the status quo,” said one analyst. “They’ve basically appointed the son of the executive chairman; it’s two steps forward one step back.”