Matt Stanton extends lead in race to replace Sneesby as Nine CEO
Senior figures at Nine have started preparing for life with Stanton in the top job permanently, even though a new wildcard contender — Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany — has emerged.
Nine Entertainment’s acting chief executive Matt Stanton has strengthened his status as the frontrunner for the top job at the media operator despite new industry rumblings that Foxtel boss Patrick Delany is a wildcard contender for the role.
Six senior company sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Capital Brief that a series of recent manoeuvres by Stanton have solidified his standing inside the company and there is a growing view the permanent job is now his to lose.
A host of names have already been linked with the high profile role, which was vacated by Mike Sneesby in September. The latest to surface in industry conversations is Delany, however a person familiar with the Foxtel CEO's thinking said he is happy and committed in his current job leading the News Corp-controlled pay TV business. Delany's former colleague and former Foxtel executive, Amanda Laing, has also been linked with the position.
Nine's board, which is now chaired by Catherine West, recently engaged David Bamford, founder and managing director of the boutique recruitment agency TalentCraft, to conduct a global search for Sneesby's successor.
