Nine confirms Matt Stanton as CEO
Nine Entertainment has confirmed Matt Stanton as its new CEO and managing director after six months in the acting role.
Shared to the ASX on Thursday morning, the Nine board confirmed his appointment after a “comprehensive international search” process, which it has said involved a “high-calibre field” of candidates.
Stanton has been acting CEO and managing director since September 2024, after the departure of Mike Sneesby.
In the ASX announcement, Nine’s chair, Catherine West, said: “The Board is delighted to confirm Matt as the Nine CEO. Following a thorough and competitive recruitment process, Matt was clearly the best credentialled leader to maintain the momentum on our strategic and cultural transformation.”
The ASX announcement outlined the key terms of Stanton’s employment, including his remuneration.
Stanton will be paid a base salary of $1.6 million per annum, inclusive of superannuation, with a short term incentive of $1.6 million at target and $2.4 million at stretch.
His long term incentives, which are subject to shareholder approval, total $2m and have total shareholder return, earnings per share, and digital strategy components.
Stanton has been with Nine since September 2022, where he joined as chief strategy officer. In May 2023, he expanded his remit, taking on managing director duties for the Olympics and Paralympics.
In October 2023, he moved into the chief financial and strategy officer role. Then, in September 2024, he became acting chief executive officer.
Prior to Nine, Stanton spent six-and-a-half years at Bauer Media (now Are Media), including three as CEO.
He also had a stint at Woolworths Group as chief transformation officer, at now-defunct content marketing agency King Content as CEO, and as CEO of Australian dairy brand Barambah Organics.
“He has done an outstanding job as acting CEO,” West said in the announcement.
“Matt’s mix of strategic and commercial acumen, transformation and media experience, strong values, and an open and collaborative approach to leadership, make him the right person to lead Nine. After developing the group strategy, Matt has a deep understanding of Nine, our priorities, culture and people and has earned the respect of the senior leadership, the broader workforce, the market and the board.”
Stanton said in the ASX announcement that it is an “honour” and “privilege” to take on the permanent role.
“Nine is a great Australian company that plays a vital role in the national conversation,” he said.
“We have an exciting future, underpinned by the best people and assets in the media sector. We have moved at pace in recent months to strengthen the Group, and I’ve been buoyed by the buy-in from people across the company as we progress our ambitious plans to reset and grow the business. I am committed to continuing to reform and strengthen Nine in the interests of all shareholders and our people.”
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the agency beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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