Seven loses three key executives amid mass redundancies
By Calum Jaspan
The changes under Seven West Media’s new chief executive, Jeff Howard, have continued, with three senior members of its executive leadership team part of the company’s latest round of redundancies.
About 150 staff across Seven West were informed on Tuesday they would lose their jobs. The cuts, flagged by this masthead on Monday, are part of a renewed drive to find more than $100 million in savings across the business.
Seven’s new chief executive Jeff Howard cut three of his most senior executives on Tuesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Amid the cuts came the surprise exit of 34-year company veteran and chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette, chief marketer Melissa Hopkins, who joined just last year from Optus, and Lewis Martin, the head of sport and Seven Melbourne’s managing director.
The three executive salaries will form a major part of the savings for Seven, with Burnette’s remuneration alone worth $1.58 million a year, according to the company’s most recent annual report.
Their departures, confirmed by Seven on Wednesday, form part of an overhaul of Seven West’s operations, two months into Howard’s tenure. Seven has introduced a new operating model, splitting the company across three divisions: television, digital and Western Australia.
Howard said it was disappointing when such changes had to be made, but thanked the trio of executives while outlining the reasoning behind the overhaul.
“Our focus, however, is on ensuring Seven West Media’s structure matches our strategy to optimise television, deliver our digital future, find new revenue streams and manage our costs responsibly,” Howard said.
Seven West owns the Seven Network and the Perth-based newspaper The West Australian. Seven was contacted for comment.
Chief content officer Angus Ross will lead the television division, while chief digital officer Gereurd Roberts will take control of the digital division. Seven West Western Australia chief executive Maryna Fewster continues in her role.
Howard also made his acting replacement, Craig Haskins, chief financial officer on a permanent basis.
Applications for voluntary redundancies at The West Australian opened for editorial staff last week.
Former Seven West Media CEO James Warburton is one senior executive to have already departed this year.
The cuts form part of a drive to find efficiencies across the business after an extended soft advertising market, alongside the expected loss of revenue from a commercial deal with Meta, which ends this week.
Last week, Howard told a parliamentary inquiry into social media that the network would need to find cost efficiencies should the revenue from its commercial arrangement with Meta dry up.
“The funding has been used to fund the entire news operation and investment in platforms and content. So we’ll be looking across the board if this funding is not available,” Howard said.
Seven is also more exposed than its counterparts to weaker market conditions, with free-to-air television advertising accounting for nearly 90 per cent of its total revenue.
The company has already undergone significant change this year. Six members of its leadership team have departed, including chief executive James Warburton, commercial director Bruce McWilliam and director of news and current affairs Craig McPherson.
McPherson’s replacement, Anthony De Ceglie, has appointed fresh news directors in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, alongside a new director of news operations and new executive producers for Sunrise, Weekend Sunrise and 7News Spotlight since his appointment in April.
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