Outside pick firms as next Nine boss

The Australian understands that the Nine board is likely to favour an appointment from outside the company as the need for a ‘fresh start’ is deemed to be a high priority, after a torrid year.

An external candidate is heavily favoured to be chosen as the next CEO of Nine Entertainment to replace Mike Sneesby. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

An external candidate is heavily favoured to be chosen as the next chief executive of Nine Entertainment, with senior insiders claiming that the company is intent on projecting an image of renewal following a torrid year for the media giant.

Nine’s hunt for its new boss began almost as soon as Mike Sneesby vacated the position last Thursday, with the immediate hiring of a recruitment firm and confirmation that the company would conduct a global search for the right candidate.

Sources have told The Australian that the board is likely to favour an appointment from outside Nine as the need for a “fresh start” for the company is a high priority, especially given the looming release of the cultural review into the organisation’s news and current affairs division.

Former Nine executive Amanda Laing – who has spent the past eight years at Foxtel, but is leaving the company next week – is considered to be the early favourite, given that she already has a strong working knowledge of how Nine operates, but would also be viewed by skittish investors as an external hire who is unencumbered by the damaged workplace culture.

One senior source at Nine told The Australian that Laing would be welcomed by the executive team at Nine, as she is highly regarded within the company.

Another theory being shared within Nine’s executive team is that the company is failing on the corporate strategy front, with its key messages failing to cut through with investors – hence the dramatic plunge in the share price this year.

“If the board wants someone that’s going to spend a lot of time with investors to talk up the value of the business, that probably suggests they’ll go for an external candidate,” one Nine source told The Australian.

However, it’s also unlikely that Nine chair Catherine West and the four other current board members will be in a rush to ­appoint a new CEO, with some ­insiders doubting whether a new boss will be appointed before ­December.

But other senior figures at Nine aren’t discounting the possibility that Matt Stanton – who was appointed acting CEO last week upon Mr Sneesby’s departure – could impress observers if given several months to prove himself. Mr Stanton was appointed Nine’s chief finance and strategy officer in August 2023.

Andrew Lancaster – who is the board representative of Bruce Gordon, Nine’s largest shareholder – is the other internal candidate who is being talked about as a possible contender for the CEO position.

The speculation swirls as new details emerge about Mr Sneesby’s departure. The Australian understands that the 50-year-old – who has served as CEO of Nine for almost three and a half years – was left with no choice but to resign after Ms West effectively told him early last Monday that he had lost the support of her and the board.

Resigned to his fate, Mr Sneesby waited until Thursday to publicly announce he was stepping down as CEO, saying he “made a personal decision to consider new opportunities in 2025 after seeing through the important work we are doing around our workplace culture and the outcomes of the culture review”.

On May 27 this year, Mr Sneesby announced the independent review into the alleged inappropriate behaviour of staff – including allegations of sexual harassment and bullying – and wider cultural issues at Nine, in response to multiple complaints by staff.

While the initial complaints centred around senior male staff in the company’s news and current affairs division, The Australian understands that a slew of bullying claims have also been levelled against two senior women at Nine.

The review, which has been conducted by external agency Intersection, will be released at the end of October.