SBS chair George Savvides to stand down from 2025
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The news: SBS chair George Savvides will not seek a third term and stand down from July next year, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced on Monday.
The context: Savvides will see out the remainder of his second term as SBS chair, which comes to an end in July 2025, bringing to an end some five years at the top of Australia’s multicultural public broadcaster.
The federal government will kick off a recruitment effort, adding to its search for a new managing director of the ABC, after David Anderson announced his departure from the public broadcaster last month.
Savvides has served as SBS chair since July 2020, after three years as deputy chair, and notably oversaw the multicultural broadcaster through the tumult of the pandemic. The government said he consistently championed inclusion and as chair sought to boost the prominence of First Nations and multicultural stories and perspectives at the broadcaster.
What they said: “Mr Savvides is a champion of diversity and has been instrumental in positioning the SBS as a distinct, contemporary public broadcaster for today’s Australia,” Rowland said in a statement.
“Under his stable leadership the SBS continues to deliver multilingual and multicultural broadcasting and digital media services reflecting our society, fostering social cohesion and celebrating and respecting Australia’s diverse way of life.
“Mr Savvides navigated our multicultural public broadcaster through a challenging time that included the COVID-19 pandemic, and demonstrated that the role of the SBS in our nation is as vital as ever, and I want to thank and recognise him for his outstanding service to SBS and the community in this role.”
The source: Communications minister press release
