News Corp Australia Kim Williams departs, Julian Clarke named as replacement
New News Corp Australia CEO Julian Clarke
Former News Corp Australia CEO Kim Williams
UPDATED: News Corp Australia boss Kim Williams has departed the company and is to be replaced by former News executive Julian Clarke.
A former CEO of Foxtel, Williams only took over as News CEO in 2011, replacing John Hartigan who was at the helm of the company for more than 10 years.
“Kim feels now is the right moment to leave the company, which he has served for two decades, following the successful implementation of the first stage of News Corp Australia’s strategy to drive integration and improve efficiency, to invest in its editorial products and publishing system, and secure a path of growth in a multi-platform world,” said Robert Thomson CEO of News Corp Australia’s parent company News Corp.
Since his arrival at the company’s head office in 2011, Mumbrella understands, that Williams had been duelling with many of the country’s most senior newspaper editors over what have been the biggest cost cutting measures in the company’s history.
“I am confident that I leave the company in a strong position and with good foundations for the future. It has been a privilege to work for News Corp across almost 20 years, and I have no doubt it will remain the most memorable element in my professional commercial life,” said Williams, in a statement.
News Corp Australia masthead The Australian is reporting that “more changes are expected to follow”. Such a declaration is likely to spark speculation about the fate of senior News Corp Australia executives, such as editorial director Campbell Reid.
Upon his arrival at the company, Williams made a number of senior executive appointments as a part of leadership regeneration, which saw News sales veterans such as Tony Kendall and Tony Prentice depart.
News Corp insiders have told Mumbrella the mood, particularly among the senior level at Holt St is “sombre” and that many of senior executives are surprised by the sudden departure of Williams, given his mandate to reform and digitise the company. “People are shocked and worried we are going backwards,” said one News executive. “It looks like he was pushed out. There were a number of people that Kim brought in and he protected them.”
The departure of Williams comes less than two weeks after the return of editor-in-chief of The New York Post Col Allan who is “temporarily” in Australia to provide “extra editorial leadership” for News Corp’s Australian newspapers.
Clarke is the former chairman of The Herald & Weekly Times in Melbourne. A long-serving News Corp executive, Clarke stepped down from the HWT board in June, and retired as head of the Herald and Weekly Times in 2007 after beginning his career in 1960 at Standard Newspapers.
Given that Clarke had retired, his appointment is likely to trigger speculation that he is in a placeholder role. News Corp observers have often speculated that Rupert Murdoch’s son Lachlan Murdoch, currently chairman of Ten and owner of DMG Radio, would one day return to lead the company.
Nic Christensen
The announcements:
News Corp announced today that Kim Williams has resigned his post as chief executive of News Corp Australia, a role he has held since December 2011.
News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch said, “I want to sincerely thank Kim, first for his nearly two decades of service to News Corp; but more importantly, for his loyalty and friendship to me and my family all of these years.
“From the early days when we opened Fox Studios Australia, to his tenacious work building Foxtel and FOX SPORTS into the powerhouse it is today, Kim has always operated with great integrity and skill. It was with that in mind that I turned to him and asked him to leave the security of the pay TV business and takeover the whole of our Australian operations as chief executive of News Corp Australia.
“Kim has been a steady and courageous leader at a time when our businesses have faced unprecedented pressure and economic challenges. I want to thank him for his unwavering commitment, and the blood, sweat and tears he has put into News Corp Australia. We wish him well in all future endeavours and look forward to continuing our friendship in the years to come.”
Mr. Williams was appointed chief executive of News Corp Australia after 10 years as chief executive of Foxtel. He previously held various executive positions, including as chief executive of Fox Studios Australia, the Australian Film Commission, Southern Star Entertainment and Musica Viva Australia, and served as a Senior Executive at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Chief executive of News Corp Robert Thomson said, “Kim feels now is the right moment to leave the company, which he has served for two decades, following the successful implementation of the first stage of News Corp Australia’s strategy to drive integration and improve efficiency, to invest in its editorial products and publishing system, and secure a path of growth in a multi-platform world.
“He has been a powerful, eloquent and effective advocate for media freedom and freedom of speech in Australia. His leadership against hastily conceived ‘reforms’ ensured that the vigorous and vital debate that has characterised our country will endure. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for that strong and principled stand.”
Mr. Williams said, “I am confident that I leave the company in a strong position and with good foundations for the future. It has been a privilege to work for News Corp across almost 20 years, and I have no doubt it will remain the most memorable element in my professional commercial life. News has many of the finest people in media in our country, and I salute them and their continuing efforts in their service of Australia and Australians.”
Added Mr. Thomson, “Kim leaves a remarkable, sustaining legacy at these companies and on modern media in Australia. He will no doubt continue to make important contributions to the development of a dynamic, outward-looking, meritocratic country.”
The second announcement:
News Corp announced today the appointment of Julian Clarke as chief executive of News Corp Australia. He succeeds Kim Williams, who is stepping down from the position following a nearly 20-year career with News Corp. Mr. Clarke begins his new role on Monday, August 12.
Mr. Clarke is an accomplished leader in the media industry and has been associated with News Corp Australia or its associated companies for 30 years, most recently as chairman of The Herald and Weekly Times.
News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch said, “I am so pleased to have Julian taking the helm at News Corp Australia. He is an experienced executive with a unique understanding of our company’s culture, and the immense energy and clarity of vision necessary to drive our properties forward at this challenging time for all media in all countries. He will certainly bring out the very best in the talented teams in our Australian broadcasting, digital and publishing properties, and have the full support of our dynamic global network.”
News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson added, “Julian has vast experience, sublime leadership skills and a profound understanding of the news business. Combined with our deep digital and broadcast bench, his appointment positions us exquisitely for the next phase of development in an era of great upheaval in the media business.”
In addition to its leading stable of newspapers and digital properties and assets, News Corp Australia enjoys a strong broadcasting team, led by Richard Freudenstein of Foxtel and Patrick Delany of FOX SPORTS Australia. News Corp Australia owns 50 per cent of the former, as well as a majority share of REA Group, led by Greg Ellis.
Mr. Clarke said, “It’s a great honour to take on this role in such engaging times. The combination of our assets and talented people makes me confident that we are well placed to embrace the future and further build this exciting company.”
Mr. Clarke served as general manager of The Herald and Weekly Times newspaper division prior to News’ successful takeover bid for the HWT group in 1987. He was then appointed deputy chief executive of Queensland Press and returned to Melbourne in 1991 as managing director of HWT, a position he held for 16 years. Mr. Clarke has held directorships on both News Corp Australia and HWT boards.
Mr. Clarke is a past board member of the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and past chairman of the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation. He is currently a Trustee of Arts Centre Melbourne.
Kim Williams’s email to staff:
Dear Colleagues
I attach the media statement about my departure from News Corp which will be effective from this weekend.
An action like this is always taken with a heavy heart and a mixed bag of feelings and reflections on a wide range of experiences with News Corp across almost 20 years. It is certainly not a decision made lightly, or without an awareness of the impact decisions like this inevitably have on many close colleagues, clients and diverse bodies within the media community.
I started with News Corp back in 1995 and have worked with the company ever since in three roles – as CEO at FOX Studios Australia, CEO of FOXTEL and as CEO at News Corp Australia. Each role has offered a diversity of challenges and wonderful opportunities. I have enjoyed the responsibility and have been honoured to work with many extraordinarily talented people.
Whilst the leadership roles and the issues encountered have at times been frankly really confronting, it has been a source of perpetual renewal and reinforcement to have worked with so many terrific colleagues both here and internationally. It is the people that one remembers the most. I will be forever grateful to those who have been so helpful and constructively supportive in the many matters we have mutually confronted. There have been many good wins matched with some memorable awful problems and opponents! It has all been the stuff of a rich and varied professional life that I would never have had without the benefit of the trust reposed in me by many great colleagues at News Corp.
I wish Rupert Murdoch, Robert Thomson, their new management team in the new News Corp and all my international colleagues nothing but the best continued success with the product and commercial rewards that their efforts so richly deserve. I am genuinely in awe at the range and depth of talent in the company here and in the international arena and have great confidence in the future and all that it holds for the new enterprise.
Finally, I thank all my Australian colleagues for their support, understanding and commitment to the company, its products and customers over a long time. There are far too many people to single any one out – you all know who you are and what we have shared together!
With my warmest and best wishes to you all in continuing to meet the challenges of change to achieve a great future individually and corporately.
Kim
Col Pot’s revenge. Dark days ahead.
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Ain’t Karma a bitch.
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Good riddance.
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Resigned before he got the boot I’m guessing
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Conclusions will be jumped to with people suggesting Williams could not cope with News Corp’s mad right political bent. Then again it may be just something far less sinister, he just may not have liked News Corp’s style of journalism supporting Tony Abbott regardless of reality.
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The wisest captains jump the ships that are sinking
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Editors won hey. What does that mean for Nicole Sheffield
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It’s testament to the esteem in which he is held that Julian Clarke gets offered the gig. He has all the skills.
It would not be ambition that’s brought him back but two old-fashioned qualities more companies could do with: loyalty and being a thoroughly decent bloke. Just couldn’t say no to Rupert, one suspects.
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Fairfax looking stronger these days, solid team. NEWS all over the shop
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What an absolute joke – this company on has itself to blame for it’s current position and not the market – Jerry should follow next
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Well done KW. Incredibly moral man
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Kim Williams. A departure very few (if any) will mourn.
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Watch all the middle managers who switched sides to the Williams management style suddenly revert back to the Col Allan style of old.
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Fairfax has had some tough years but they have had the consistent digital vision and strong commercial focus through Ed Harrison. Greg Hywood is breaking through bit by bit ditching overpaid editors, failed publishers, shonky salespeople and handling a micromanaging board. Kim William was obviously trying to do all the same things but the pressure got too much for Rupert. The old school print Editors have won.
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its not a signal of inter-generational change or succession planning, thats for sure. Rupert looks to back older business, older models of newspaper men. And, I stress men. Rebbeckah may be all over the tabloids in the UK, but he doesn’t seem to want anyone of that age or calibre in charge in Australia.
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Nero fiddles…
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The print regime is back!
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The management consultants will be shown the door within days. Fairfax should take note.
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The naked visceral attack on Labor is, no matter how you vote, completely abandoning the principle of serving the reader. I cancelled my sub to The Australian this week. No self respecting media professional should be expected to work inside such a dysfunctional machine. Big shame News Limited, respect to K.W.
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His last email to staff said a lot. Journos hate reading corporate waffle and that email was full of it (again). Very unbecoming for the boss of hundreds of journos.
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Kim Williams was too decent a man to oversee the job that News is doing. It’s sad to see newspapers trashing themselves for an agenda, especially one that could be done with subtlety.
Having struck out in the UK and USA, Australia is suffering from the need for the boss to play king maker.
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The terrograph does a photoshop of rats. Perhaps they do another of the rats arse that everybody doesnt give. They give away more copies than they sell and even the homeless wont take them to use as toilet paper because they are already too full of crap.
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Three possibilities:
– Kim upset the print old guard too much and eventually Rupert said enough! Will find a new digital guy more acceptable (less progressive) to the old guys to continue the revolution albeit more gently.
– Kim had a gutful of the obstructionism and/or editorial policies and/or decided it was a hopeless task and jumped
– Rupert got cold feet when it comes to the amount of change necessary to modernise a failing business model and has will keep it basically as-is to his grave. Future will see lip service paid to digital and revert to old print based editorial and sales models
Probably all of the above really. Be interesting to see how/if he reacts when digital disrupts FOX to the same extent as it has print. Ban Google?
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He was on the way out when Col Allen returned.they don’t call him Col Pot for nothing
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New Newscorp reports earnings in the next few weeks so perhaps one could draw a connection between this personnel movement and the first time in a long time the AU assets (admittedly partnering in decline print with domestic pay TV) will have to report results.
Julian Clarke was in charge of the HS when it was reported to be the most dominant paper in the world in terms of revenue and also readership to population … so it’s a safe decision that should appease Grandma and Granddad shareholders.
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So … when Julian retires from this (which won’t be long) it’ll be Lachlan’s turn.
And bringing the success-ridden leadership he has provided to everything from Onetel to Network Ten … how long before calamity strikes?
Sell those News shares now guys
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No coincidences here. Obviously the arrival of Col Pot two weeks ago has everything to do with this resignation. Don’t you just love the Corporate speak though?
Looks like an implosion from within News Ltd. The sooner it’s over the better for us in Oz.
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Lachlan throwing the “toys out of the cot”….bad luck Kim
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Given that Murdoch had someone at the ready to take over it is reasonable to suggest the decision about Williams’ departure was made some weeks back. There was probably a big payout involved so if we ever discover who decided what it will come from someone other than Williams or Murdoch. That someone might speak up after the election and after they too are shown the door.
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Fairfax and News both are in dire straits financially and finally the News arrogance has cracked. Too many people in newspapers have no management ability, just the capacity to slide through the politics. Most likely, Williams was trying to do obvious stuff and the editors as usual have arked up. So he is gone. Julian won’t be there for long and the final appointment will be fascinating in light of the financials that soon will emerge.
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new leaders of the publishing arm of news corp are flexing their muscles over what is their biggest revenue assett. Surely this os a temporary leadership change or a puppett for comand abroad. Might be a mice well respected person, bu you wonder in an age like this wether its history repeating itself. just my two cents – if journalists and editors were meant to lead the business to a better place through this massive decline, then they would have done it with John Hartigan- they are not capable in this difficult time when the abundance of revenue doesn’t exist. Capable of telling the News they are great at most of the time, sustaining and running a profitable business in a digital disrupted environment – just hopeless. Hopeless at embracing non-editorial expertise, arogant from a former era that they still have mot evolved from. That’s where Kim was the right leader through this change. Someone who made decisions and challenged an old gauard waiting for their retirement.
I guess we wait and see how the business fairs up this week when they announce results in the US.
Good luck Kim on next venture. You said what needed saying and didn’t shy from a hard conflict. Great display of Integrity despite people perhaps not likeing the messages you had to deliver.
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Back to being the typical old journo’s boys club. News was making strides into being a a media company that was on the pinnacle of being pretty damn interesting.
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Kim Williams now in the running for the NBN gig. Up against his old foe Jack Matthews. Interesting to watch, just gotta ge through this election
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Stodgy, old guard journo nonsense versus financial facts of life. News media needs more product focus and much better quality. Both big camps are still run by old huatd types. It wont work.
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latte lover, you are an idiot!!
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The paywall model will never work in Australia for everyday news sites. We just dont have the population.
Instead, the numbers will DRASTICALLY drop (as they have) and their ad revenues will die in the arse.
Not helped by the fact that most paywall articles can easily be found elsewhere for free just by copying and pasting the preview paragraph into Google and then you’ll usually be shown a syndicated version of the content on another site.
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Sign of the times at newprint media, revolving door
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It’s like moving the deck chairs on the titanic been there done that with mr Clarke
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I’m sure being married into the Whitlam family wouldn’t be appreciated in the Murdoch camp either.
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Latte Lover, you got it down pat. Mr Hywood has shaved plenty of fat and has an interesting mix around him now. Just get rid of the management consultants and perhaps he won’t cop Kim’s fate. I worked with Kim for many years – smart beyond comprehension. NEWS won’t realize that until a while later. What a regressive decision.
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“….Williams leaves the group with a deeper curriculum vitae than the one he brought, and he is likely to be on any Australian media group’s list of candidates when it considers the question of CEO succession”
by Malcolm Maiden
The current CEO of Fairfax has a heavy reliance of no clue management consultants and could possibly be his downfall too
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Good to see some young blood brought in
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Looks bad when a CEO hailed as a “saviour” leaves in disgrace just a few weeks before the Income Statement is released doesn’t it ?
The expression “rat leaving a sinking ship” comes to mind.
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Latte loser
Greg Hywood will be next to go. Brings back an old hack from NZ to run a digital company? One of the so-called ‘management consultant’s ie The only people who have any clue how to fix fairfax will be running Fairfax by this time next year.
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Au Revoir
How would management consultants know how to run media companies? These people are behind appalling operational decisions that we journos despair at.
I doubt BAIN – will outlast Greg Hywood. THEN AGAIN, look what happened to Kim! He’s probably on their hit list too!
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DibbyNob
If you think I’m talking about Bain you are so junior and so far out of the loop you might well be working in a branch office of the Turramurra times
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