Nine’s chief sales officer Michael Stephenson has resigned from the role he held for almost a decade, with Nine executive Matt James appointed to the role on an interim basis.
Stephenson was a member of Nine’s Group Leadership Team, with accountability for the company’s advertising revenue across its Total Television, Total Publishing and Total Audio assets.
Nine acting chief executive officer, Matthew Stanton said “Since Michael joined as Director of Sales for ninemsn almost two decades ago, Nine has successfully responded to the changing industry dynamics and consistently performed strongly in the advertising market. During his tenure, Nine has developed the television trading platform 9Galaxy, launched self-serve advertising platform 9AdManager and rapidly grown our BVOD revenue share to 47 per cent in FY24.
“We are fortunate that high-calibre media executive Matt James is stepping in to lead the Sales team to ensure continuity for Nine’s key partners and sales team. With experience on both the media and agency sides, a strong background in digital, and extensive knowledge of Nine, Matt is well placed to ensure he hits the ground running with the Sales team during 2025.”
Stephenson’s resignation as Nine’s chief sales officer comes during a period of transition for the company. An independent review released in October 2024 highlighted concerns around workplace culture, including instances of bullying, discrimination, and harassment, prompting a renewed focus on improving internal practices. This period of reflection has coincided with leadership changes, including the departures of CEO Mike Sneesby in September 2024 and communications director Victoria Buchan in October 2024.
In addition, the company’s announcement of 200 job cuts in June 2024 underscored broader operational challenges. These developments have created an opportunity for Nine’s leadership to strengthen its culture and position the organisation for future success in an increasingly dynamic media landscape.
For the past four years, James has been managing director of Nine Melbourne and more recently has worked closely in a senior strategy role across the wider Nine Group, as part of the Nine2028 transformation team.
Prior to taking up the Melbourne role in 2020, he was CEO of global media agency Zenith based in London after previously holding the roles of inaugural Group CEO of Publicis Media and CEO of Zenith Australia and New Zealand. James held senior roles with Nine earlier in his career, including Group Director of the client solutions division, Powered, and Managing Director of Nine’s Digital Media division.
A recruitment process to confirm the appointment of a chief sales officer on a permanent basis is expected to be finalised in the New Year.