Seven West Media chief James Warburton’s reign ends
James Warburton has handed over the reins after five years running the media company, which is now embroiled in scandalous claims plaguing investigative program Spotlight.
Seven West Media chief executive officer and managing director James Warburton has handed over the reins after five years running the media company, which is now embroiled in scandalous claims plaguing investigative program Spotlight.
Mr Warburton had announced his intended departure in December, before the scandal publicly emerged.
He had flagged to shareholders plans to step down by the end of the financial year, but this date was later brought forward to April 18, as reported by The Australian.
The handover comes as Seven West’s boardroom has also been grappling with allegations the Spotlight program misused funds to pay for prostitiutes and drugs.
On Thursday, Seven West confirmed Mr Warburton had handed over the reins at a board meeting to his replacement, the company’s chief financial officer Jeff Howard, who starts on Friday.
The company’s chairman, Kerry Stokes, thanked Mr Warburton for his service and said the search had begun for a new CFO.
Craig Haskins will be acting CFO until a permanent replacement is found.
Sources have told The Australian that board members had also expressed a desire for more information at Thursday’s meeting on what unfolded in the lead-up to the expenses scandal that has rocked the network.
Board members contacted by The Australian would not comment on the recent events to engulf the media company.
But it is understood Mr Stokes is furious about the recent events surrounding Seven. “He is absolutely livid,” said one source, who asked not to be named.
Speculation continues to swirl that the Seven Group is eyeing off a sale of the company’s media arm, and is holding out until the price is right.
So far, only one senior figure on the Spotlight program – executive producer Mark Llewellyn – has left since the Auerbach allegations aired, with the industry veteran bearing the blame for the company’s decision to keep Auerbach after he admitted misusing the company’s credit card.
Seven West’s chief commercial officer Bruce McWilliam also left this month, after 21 years at Seven, having resigned before the Spotlight scandal emerged.
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