Leo Burnett CEO Todd Sampson appointed to Fairfax board
Sampson
Fairfax Media has made the surprise move of adding adman Todd Sampson to its board after Trade Me founder Sam Morgan decided to retire.
The announcement was quietly slipped out to the Australian Securities Exchange last night, and sees one of the major shareholders, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, passed over again for a seat on the board of the media company.
However, the appointment of Sampson, who has forged a TV career in recent years as a regular panelist on the Gruen series and ABC1’s Redesign my Brain, will be seen as a sign the board which has come under criticism in recent years for a lack of innovative thinking, is eyeing some more innovative thinking.
Fairfax has suffered continual declines in earnings and circulations for its printed products in recent years, with revenues down 0.8 per cent in its half-year results in February.
Chairman Roger Corbett said in a statement: “We are delighted that Todd Sampson has agreed to join the Fairfax board. We believe that he will bring a deep knowledge of media, marketing, advertising and digital transformation to our board.
“He will also bring his commercial success as the national CEO of Leo Burnett, one of Australia’s most successful communications companies.”
Sampson said: “I am excited to be a part of this important company. I accepted the role because I think I can make a difference.”
Earlier this month the company also announced it was set to cut the majority of its photographers amid a new deal with picture service Getty Images which would see the job outsourced as it looks to cut costs amid a restructure for the digital age, which has seen the company invest in content marketing and events divisions.
Corbett also paid tribute to the contribution of Sam has made an outstanding contribution to the board and to the company’s strategic thinking. we will miss him.
“Sam has decided that it is now time for him to move n to devote more of his time to his philanthropic and business ventures in various parts of the world.”
Alex Hayes
Another example of why Fairfax is in strife. It has a board with ‘identities’ sitting on it all getting a retainer…
Cull from the top, not the bottom you fruitcakes!
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Fairfax today: Top down.
– Inflexibility
– Bureaucracy
– Overall control
– Imposed processes
(No moral motivation – people feel their opinion does not matter.)
New Skool media company: Bottom up:
– Flexibility
– Agility
– Collaboration
– Team-driven processes
(High motivation – team members contribute to the way the project is developed.)
Until the fat cats leave Fairfax will be in strife(.)
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Todd’s great but might as well paint spots on a T-Rex.
Under the skin it’s still a dinosaur and the meteor-strike is not going to reverse itself.
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Lipstick on the pig.
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If I was Gina I’d firesale the shares and let the whole joint collapse.
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Roger Corbett got the job done at woolworths. We need this paper to survive. It’s the only alternative mainstream voice against Murdoch. We can’t let Gina get her bum in a seat on that board or no one will try and keep the government accountable.
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It would be great if someone new did something new at Fairfax. I fear Sampson will be ignored because those who have been running the show will not want to give up the power to stuff things up.
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@patrick: if Fairfax is anything like Woolworths it needs to die
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Everyone pumped with the continued evolving of this very important media company.
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Todd Sampson will learn a valuable lesson
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I would support Peppa the Pig getting a board seat over Gina.
She is on the Channel 10 board, as it continues to sink, and her signature contribution seems to be an enlarged regular spot for low-rating Andrew Bolt.
Unlike the other Fairfax board members, she refuses to guarantee editorial independence.
She has just pursued a Fairfax journalist through the courts to force her to reveal her sources (and she lost and has to pay costs).
Gina is toxic to keeping the flickering flame of independent, balanced media alive in this country. Or we can just sign over the public debate to Murdoch.
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Ridiculous decision
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congrats Todd
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