The departure of Foxtel executives Les Wigan and Amanda Laing has led to another restructure of the Foxtel Group executive team.
The departure of both executives was telegraphed some time ago by group’s chief executive Patrick Delany.
Their departures though were only relatively recent so the restructure is only now having an impact.
The decision was made to re-organise the operating model to reflect revenue-generating areas, namely aggregation (Foxtel and Hubbl) and streaming and advertising (Kayo, Binge and Foxtel Media).
The two business units have quite specific dedicated management but also share services including legal, finance, technology, HR, and communications.
The changes mean significant title changes to leaders from each division.
Julian Ogrin
Foxtel Group divisions now have their own chief executive officers
Julian Ogrin’s title has changed to chief executive officer, Streaming and Advertising, and Hilary Perchard’s title changed to chief executive officer, Foxtel Retail and Hubbl. Perchard’s responsibilities also extend to non-sport content acquisitions and group strategy.
Last April, Delany shared with staff that Les Wigan had been asked to join the team responsible for delivering a sports streaming app for the US market to lend his practical knowledge and strategic counsel given his experience with Kayo.
The app is being launched by ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros Discovery via a joint venture.
Delany said: “This is a great opportunity for Les, taking the learnings from his local experience to support the team to launch a sports streaming business in the US.
“Since joining the Foxtel Group, in 2013, Les has played a strategic role in our digital transformation. Initially joining as COO at Fox Sports, he then played a foundational role in the development and running of Kayo and Binge.
“Moving to become the Foxtel Chief Product, Technology, and Operations Officer, he was instrumental in the implementation of our multiyear transformation to modernise Foxtel and transform the Foxtel Group into a world leading technology and consumer streaming business.”
In his new role started recently, Wigan is leveraging his past experiences at Kayo and Fox Sports Australia in a strategic advisory capacity, splitting his time between Sydney and Los Angeles.
As a result of Wigan’s move, the Hubbl team will now report to Hilary Perchard. Perchard will lead two parallel products, Foxtel and Hubbl, both content aggregation services aimed to simplify how Foxtel Group customers consume sports and entertainment.
Les Wigan
Arrival of Paul Meller as Foxtel Group CTO
Coinciding the with announcement of the departure of Les Wigan, Foxtel Group last May appointed Paul Meller chief technology officer.
Delany at the time noted Meller is a globally recognised CTO, originally from Australia, and recently based in New York.
“Paul is a transformational CTO bringing over 20 years of global experience leading product and technology organisations across Google, Dow Jones, and Ernst & Young (EY),” said Delany.
“Most recently, Paul was the global head of engineering at EY responsible for the development of cloud-based software products and platforms across the firm.
“Prior to EY, Paul worked in media and technology, and is well known to News Corp for his achievements working as a technology leader at Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, and 21st Century Fox.”
Amanda Laing signs off
It seemed like the long goodbye. But Amanda Laing has left the business this month as detailed earlier this year.
A reminder of what we reported Delany said about her departure earlier this year: “We are so fortunate to have had Amanda in our business for the last six years. Her industry experience, foresight, and tenacious ability to secure the best content and commercial deals have allowed us to launch new products and grow our streaming businesses and revenues.
Amanda Laing
“I respect Amanda’s decision to tender her resignation, in her words to me, ‘I am very proud of the transformation and growth we have achieved at the Foxtel Group over the last six years. I’ve had the privilege to work across both sport and entertainment, my two great loves, to drive strategic change and to deliver the best content in the world for our customers. We have built a powerful suite of products and a remarkable team of people, so I know that the business is in good hands and set up for success.’ ”
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