oOh!media appoints Nova Entertainment boss Cathy O‘Connor as new CEO
Outdoor ad firm oOh!media’s appointment of Nova’s Cathy O’Connor as CEO comes a week after it fell into the red.
Outdoor advertising company oOh!media has tapped Nova Entertainment boss Cathy O’Connor as its new chief executive, tasked with navigating through the ad spending downturn during the coronavirus crisis and boosting market share.
Ms O’Connor will take over from oOh!media’s founder and CEO Brendon Cook early next year following 12 years at the helm of the radio group.
OOh!media chairman Tony Faure says Ms O’Connor is the best person to lead the group in its next stage of growth. Her appointment follows a global search which began after Mr Cook called time on his 30 year reign in January.
Ms O’Connor has a “sensational track record of having built a really good business with Nova”, plus overseeing profit growth and innovation, Mr Faure told The Australian.
She also has a solid record on investing in people and developing strong executive teams, he said.
While Ms O’Connor doesn’t have direct experience working in the outdoor ad market, she will have a “tonne” of experienced executives around her, including Mr Cook, Mr Faure said.
“It was really a case of, her skills were absolutely outstanding and we felt very comfortable that the understanding of the out of home business is very deep.”
The long-awaited appointment comes a week after oOh!media swung to an interim net loss of $27.5m as advertisers slashed spending during the coronavirus crisis. As well as operating digital and traditional billboards, the group also owns digital publisher Junkee Media and printing business Cactus.
Mr Faure said oOh!media was looking to grow the outdoor ad industry’s share of the total ad market from 7 per cent to “north of 10 per cent” in the next few years by taking share from “other media”, but stopped short of naming any players.
“We think that we can offer a very efficient way of reaching target markets in different ways on our platform.”
Ms O’Connor, who has been running Nova for the past 12 years, said oOh!media’s board wanted to see “strong” return on investment, and “a more diverse contribution and better growth”.
Like her predecessor, Ms O’Connor will receive fixed annual remuneration of $1.3m, and is eligible for a bonus of as much as $800,000 a year, subject to performance targets. oOh!media will also give her performance rights, valued at $750,000, next year.
OOh!media said Mr Cook will continue to consult to the group until at least the end of 2021, providing “access to his deep industry knowledge, insights and relationships”.
Separately, Nova said Peter Charlton, who has been chief commercial officer for eight years, will succeed Ms O’Connor on November 2. He has held various roles at Nova since August 2012, and has worked in the media industry for more than 20 years.
Nova, which operates Nova and smoothfm radio stations, also announced that Peter Colosimo will take over as chief operating officer.
Nova executive chairman Lachlan Murdoch said the two appointments “reflect the depth of talent” at the company.
“Our ratings success this year has demonstrated the strength of Nova and the creativity of all our team. Peter and Pete have the operational and commercial experience to accelerate that success and our growth,” Mr Murdoch said in a statement.
OOh!media last Monday reported a 62 per cent drop in fiscal second-quarter revenue, as companies cut their ad budgets. Its Fly division was the biggest casualty, with its second-quarter revenue plunging 86 per cent, and all other segments reporting a double digit drop.
It didn’t pay an interim dividend payment, which was flagged at the time of its $167m capital raising at the start of the pandemic.
However, oOh!media expects demand to pick up over the coming months as clients resume spending on outdoor ads following the easing of government COVID-19 restrictions.
Nova mid-August announced it would lay off staff as it looked to cut costs by nine per cent, and forecast a 25 per cent revenue drop this year.
oOh!media shares were up 3.5 per cent to $1.03 on the ASX on Monday afternoon.
Mr Murdoch is also co-chairman of News Corp, publisher of The Australian.
Report on ABC’s ‘doctored audio’ scandal blames lawyers
A report has blamed ABC lawyers for failing to pass on complaints by former commando Heston Russell that extra gunshots had been edited into an ABC news report.
‘Pressure from above’: ABC executive pushed by Buttrose
Christopher Oliver-Taylor was under pressure to sack Antoinette Lattouf after Ita Buttrose made clear she was ‘deeply unhappy’ with action taken on the stand-in radio host, the Federal Court has heard.