Ooh Media appoints Nova’s Cathy O’Connor as CEO
Ooh Media has found its replacement for outgoing CEO Brendon Cook, appointing Nova Entertainment CEO Cathy O’Connor into the top job.
O’Connor will join the outdoor media company from early 2021, giving Cook room to continue his plans to exit after 30 years at the front of the business. However, Cook will continue to consult for the business until at least the end of 2021.
Cathy O’Connor will be the new CEO of Ooh Media
O’Connor has more than 35 years experience in Australian media and has spent 12 years as Nova’s CEO after five years as managing director of DMG Radio, Nova’s previous branding. Nova CCO Peter Charlton will replace her at the radio business.
Tony Faure, chair of the Ooh board, said the company was delighted with the appointment.
“The board was pleased to be able to attract a high-quality field of candidates, and after significant consideration, we felt Cathy was the ideal person to lead Ooh in its next stage of growth,” said Faure.
“We would also like to place on record our thanks to Brendon for his continued commitment and professionalism in navigating through the pandemic and for agreeing to stay on until the end of this year.
“Cathy, who is highly regarded by the industry, brings extensive experience as a leader of successful media organisations and in her most recent role at Nova has created significant value.”
Faure said Cathy brought ‘a range of qualities’ Ooh Media needed, including leading a technology strategy and ‘driving organic growth initiatives’.
O’Connor said she was looking forward to the new chapter in her career.
“Despite the challenges of 2020, the out of home sector is an exciting place to be in, with strong growth prospects and increasing prominence in a digital future,” she said.
“Ooh is a fantastic business with an extensive national reach backed by both leading data smarts and a fantastic team of professionals that are the best in their field.”
Ooh Media recently announced a net profit loss of $27.5m for the first half of 2020, but Cook said the business had done everything it could to overcome the ‘disproportionate’ impact COVID-19 had had on the outdoor industry. The business made 22 redundancies earlier this month as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic.
Hhmmm,
Class act is Cathy O’Connor. Big hire, well done!
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Great appointment. Congrats Cath !
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Excellent plan. Not without some anxiety, I recently renewed my vows (bought more shares) with Ooh Media. I’m now feeling a lot better about it.
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Massive congratulations to Brendan on a stellar career. Built the business from the ground up and worthy of every accolade that comes his way!
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Amazing appointment – she’s a truly remarkable leader.
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How long before Cath gets the band back together over at Ooh??
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@interested to see. The talk around the hallways in our office today predicts that Cathy will bring in a strong exec team at Ooh!, then acquire Nova from Murdoch at a discount, given current trading, to form a formidable OOH, Digital and Radio business. This would be a great result for Australian media.
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Brilliant appointment
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