Nine execs jostle for power as race to replace Sneesby as CEO begins
The media giant has appointed a boutique recruiting firm to find its next CEO, but internal C-suite and boardroom jockeying for the role has already begun.
Senior figures at Nine Entertainment are positioning themselves for power in the post Mike Sneesby era as the global search for the next chief executive of the country's largest domestic media operator gets underway.
Nine has tapped David Bamford, founder and managing director of the boutique recruitment agency TalentCraft, to lead the global search for Sneesby's replacement, but several internal candidates have already moved to position themselves as contenders in a process where top shareholder Bruce Gordon and his board representative Andrew Lancaster are expected to be the kingmakers.
Nine’s chief sales officer Michael Stephenson has quietly started laying the groundwork for a tilt at the CEO role, company sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the process is confidential said, and has touted the advertising bookings he brought in for the Paris Olympics.
Tom Malone, Nine's head of radio who like Stephenson was a candidate for the job in 2021 is also being floated as a contender, while chief finance and strategy officer Matt Stanton, who will replace Sneesby on an interim basis from October, is considered the internal frontrunner.
