Mike Sneesby has announced his resignation as chief executive of Nine Entertainment, one of Australia's largest media groups. The move comes after months of turmoil including a motion of no confidence in Sneesby and the group's board.
Sneesby's departure takes effect at the end of this month. He will be replaced by CFO and chief strategy officer Matt Stanton during the hiring process.
“I believe now is the right time for leadership to transition to lead Nine into the next phase of its strategic transformation” following the conclusion of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Sneesby told the Australian Stock Exchange.
Sneesby takes over the top job at the group, which includes television, streaming and newspapers, following the departure of his predecessor Hugh Marks. Sneesby was a co-founder of Australian streaming service Stan and has been its chief executive since 2015.
In a personal note to Nine staff on Thursday, Sneesby said: “I want to be completely open about the circumstances surrounding my departure. To give some context, this has been one of the most challenging years of my career – a year in which our resilience has been tested. Despite the intensity of scrutiny, my focus has not wavered on delivering the best outcomes for our people and for Nine.
“I have thought a lot about my future plans over recent months and, after consulting with my family and those closest to me, I have made a personal decision to consider new opportunities in 2025 after reviewing the important work we are doing around our workplace culture and the results of our culture review.”
Nine boss Peter Costello resigned in June after an alleged altercation with a reporter at Canberra Airport. Costello denies the allegation. In March, the group’s head of news, Darren Wick, resigned after allegations of abuse of power and inappropriate behaviour in the newsroom. A subsequent investigation found staff had suffered trauma.
In June, Nine announced plans to cut 200 jobs. It blamed the weak advertising market and the failure to renew its news content deal with Meta, the US social media giant. In response, Nine staff went on strike, a move that threatened to disrupt coverage of the Summer Olympics, for which Nine had acquired the rights from rival media group Seven.
