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Sales boss Barry O’Brien to leave Ten

barry_o'brien_Network Ten’s chief sales officer Barry O’Brien is to leave the company earlier than the market expected.

He officially departs the organisation in a fortnight’s time.

His departure comes a year after he was brought in by former CEO James Warburton  to steady the ship after the abrupt departure of Mike Morrison from the role.

In an interview last August O’Brien – a former boss of media agency PHD –  told Mumbrella he had a two year contract. He said: “It is a gig that I’ve signed on for a couple of years.”

It was unclear from this afternoon’s statement from Ten whether O’Brien’s role will be replaced in time. National sales director Louise Barrett – who moved over from magazine publisher Bauer in September – will run the sales team.

A statement from Ten this afternoon said:

Network Ten today announced that Chief Sales Officer, Barry O’Brien, has decided to step down, effective July 31.

Mr O’Brien has held the Chief Sales Officer role since June 2012. Network Ten’s Sales department will now be run by National Sales Director, Louise Barrett.

Network Ten Chief Executive Officer, Hamish McLennan, said: “We are very sorry to see Barry go, but we understand his desire to step back from his current role and look for new opportunities.

“We are extremely grateful to Barry for stepping in at a critical time for Network Ten.

“He was hired to stabilise and restructure Network Ten’s Sales department, and to find a successor. He achieved those objectives, and more,” he said. 

“Barry is one of Australia’s most experienced media executives. He has been a key member of Network Ten’s executive team over the past 13 months and we wish him the very best for the future.”

Mr O’Brien said: “Working at Network Ten has been an amazing experience. I’ve worked with some great people here and we have a great team, including Louise Barrett, Kylie Rogers, Rod Prosser, Sarah Keith and others. I’ve achieved what I set out to do at Network Ten and the time is right to hand the reins to the next generation of executives.”

Network Ten National Sales Manager, Kylie Rogers, returns from maternity leave in late July and will report to Ms Barrett.

Mr McLennan added: “Louise and Kylie are highly experienced and effective executives, with great relationships across the marketing and media industries. They will make a powerful combination.”

 

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