At the end of April this year, Mediaweek visited the Seven West Media commercial team at its Sydney HQ. That day we spent time with chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette and national sales director Georgie Nichols.
Also joining me at the Mediaweek round-table were director 7RED Katie Finney, and national digital sales director Rachel Page.
The visit was to get some commentary about the changing face of TV. From the size of linear TV audiences, to the rise of streaming TV, to the revolution in TV ratings.
See also: Kurt Burnette and Seven sales team challenge TV narrative, comment on recent headlines
We were subsequently as shocked as any when just a few weeks after that visit, Burnette and Nichols exited the business. They were among a number of staff who departed, including other members of the executive team.
See also: Seven West Media: New divisions and leadership roles in wake of redundancies
Last week colleagues and clients finally got to pay tribute to Burnette and Nichols at an event at The Star in Sydney. It was just days before Seven hosted The TV Week Logie Awards at the same venue.
Georgie Nichols speaking at the Seven farewell with CEO Jeff Howard looking on
Attending were Seven West Media chair Kerry Stokes, new CEO Jeff Howard, and other board members including Ryan Stokes. Also on hand were members of the new Seven executive team. There were also other staff members and clients and media agency executives.
Those clients included Lisa Ronson now at Medibank, Tom Dobson from NAB and Stephen Basil-Jones from Sony Pictures.
Other guests included IPG Mediabrands’ Leigh Terry, OMD’s Laura Nice and Sian Whitnall, Hatched’s Mike Wilson, and Think TV Australia’s Kim Portrate.
Speaking afterwards about the gathering, Burnette said: “Thank you to the many messages of love and positivity I’ve received over the last few weeks, it has been truly amazing and humbling to see and read.
Standing room only as Kurt Burnette spoke to friends and colleagues last week
“I’m incredibly proud of my achievements with my time at Seven and I’m proud of how I’ve gone about achieving that success. I’m even prouder of the people I’ve worked with as colleagues and clients, many of whom I’m pleased to call good friends to this day. A lifetime of wonderful memories and achievements. Now for some much-needed and valued time with my family, friends and self before getting into what’s next.”
Nichols spoke about her time and her team at Seven. She recalled how Kurt’s wife Sam Burnette employed Nichols for her first job in the media. She explained how Kurt later recruited her from Carat, saying she joined Seven because of the great culture that had been created in the sales team.