New Mi9 CEO imposes staff pay freeze as he looks to review the business
Alex Parsons
The new CEO of Nine Entertainment Co’s digital division Mi9 Alex Parsons has instituted an across the board pay freeze, in one of his first moves at the helm of the operation.
At the end of last week Parsons, who has taken the helm from Mark Britt, sent an email to staff explaining there would be major changes to remuneration following last year’s float on the stock market and the upcoming profit announcement next week.
In the email Parsons informs staff that their bonuses will be paid in September but that he is putting all future bonuses on hold indefinitely arguing: “as you may know Mi9 is a very complex business and I need to take some time to understand a holistic view of the business, its performance and financials prior to proceeding with any major financial changes including remuneration changes.”
Mumbrella understands the move has annoyed a number of staff who believe the change in leadership from Mark Britt to Parsons should not be impacting their remuneration model.
In Parsons’ email to staff he is “passionate about setting the business up for future success and growth” and improve the Mi9/Ninemsn profit lines. Last year the business posted a disappointing result with the digital business taking a 20 per cent hit to earnings in fiscal year 2014.
“Thank you for your support and understanding,” wrote Parsons referring to the pay freeze. “I look forward to working with you all in FY15 as we continue to evolve this business and grow both our revenue, and importantly, our profit lines.”
A spokeswoman for Mi9 declined to comment on the pay freeze or how long it would be in place.
Nic Christensen
Parsons’ email to staff:
Hi everyone,
I wanted to take this opportunity to provide an update and explain the new steps in place for the review of remuneration and bonus as well as thank you all for the contribution you have made to Mi9’s success over the last year.
As you may be aware, this year there is a change to our Company Bonus timeline driven by our new position as part of an ASX listed company under Nine Entertainment Company (NEC) Group. There are lots of perks about being a listed business, however it also comes with a higher level of corporate governance requirements which has resulted in a few changes to how we manage our annual bonus process.
The key change is bonus payments need to be made post the results announcement on 28 August.
As bonus relates to performance we are unable to communicate performance prior to our market announcements. We expect that our FY14 business performance will support the Board approving bonus payments however these payments are always fully at the Board’s discretion and remain subject to the auditor’s sign-off which does not happen until immediately before the results release.
Once payments have been approved they will be processed in the first pay-cycle following the NEC results announcement which is the pay cycle on 15 September.
Further to this, I have made the difficult yet necessary decision to put all annual remuneration changes on hold.
I am passionate about setting the business up for future success and growth and I understand that each team and every individual is key to this success. However, as you may know Mi9 is a very complex business and I need to take some time to understand a holistic view of the business, its performance and financials prior to proceeding with any major financial changes including remuneration changes. This will not impact people who have taken on new roles within the business and will not stop us hiring new roles in the business.
Thank you for your support and understanding, I look forward to working with you all in FY15 as we continue to evolve this business and grow both our revenue, and importantly, our profit lines.
If you have any questions please reach out to your leader or P&C.
Alex
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Hi everyone,
Surely just his own pay then – everyone else seems to have left?
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A pay freeze! That’s sure to get the entire team right behind you in your first week… (Pay freeze, upcoming profit announcement, fast departing CEO – that can only mean one thing…)
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Or they are actively managing the massive pay disparity between nine and mi9 staffers prior to merger of the teams.
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#sinkingship
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I can’t see any problems with the strategy. I was thinking of a $7 co=payment for the privilege of working there.
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Focus on proft before revenue = cost cuts. This is just the start.
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Tethered to a dinosaur, perhaps no worse fate for a digital business.
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