MUMBAI: Ten Network CEO and chairman Hamish McLennan has stepped down from his post. The move comes in the wake of Ten selling a 15 per cent stake to Australian pay-TV network Foxtel, which is a 50/50 joint venture between Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Telstra.
Ten reportedly raised raise approximately Aus $154 million through the share offering, with Foxtel buying in Aus $77 million of the new equity. In return, it was decided that Ten’s board would be shrunk to six members, with Foxtel bagging one seat.
With McLennan stepping down from both the roles, Ten chief operating officer and chief financial officer Paul Anderson has been appointed as CEO with effect from 27 July, 2015.
Ten Network non-executive director David Gordon has been appointed chairman. Gordon has been a director of Ten since April 2010 and, as a member of the Independent Board Committee, has been closely involved with the strategic transactions announced on 15 June.
Gordon said, “The Board thanks Hamish for his contribution during what has been a challenging period in Ten’s history. He has led a strong and talented management team to effect a turnaround in the company’s performance. Hamish will work with myself and Paul Anderson on a seamless transition and he will continue to advise and assist the company until the end of the year. Ten is in an important and exciting phase, as we continue to build our revenue on the back of strong audience growth since mid-2014 and transition our sales activities to Multi Channel Network; and maintain our clear focus on growth and efficiencies.”
McLennan added, “The strategic arrangements announced on 15 June, including the proposed investment by Foxtel in Ten and the transformative agreement with MCN, mean that my role is complete."
Anderson said, “I’m extremely honored to be offered this opportunity by the Board and I look forward to continuing to work with the very talented team at TEN to build on the improvements we have seen over the past year or so and execute our strategy, which remains unchanged. At the same time, the transition to MCN is progressing smoothly and has been very well received by the market.”
The strategic arrangements included the appointment of Multi Channel Network as sales representative of Ten’s television and digital advertising inventory. Ten will undertake a selection process for a new chief financial officer.
