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Seven appoints Jeff Howard as new CFO

Seven West Media has appointed Jeff Howard as its new chief financial officer, following the departure of Warwick Lynch who will step down in January.

Lynch has been the CFO for five years and been with the business for 24.

Howard will join the company in January

Howard joins from Here, There & Everywhere (HT&E), the parent company of radio business Australian Radio Network (ARN), where he has been CFO for over seven years. Prior to that, he was with the global banking and markets division of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), and he has spent time with KPMG.

Seven’s CEO James Warburton said Howard’s extensive experience made him the perfect selection for Lynch’s successor.

“I am delighted to welcome Jeff to the business. His extensive experience in ASX listed markets and track record of delivering in complex, multi-faceted roles makes him the ideal successor to Warwick Lynch,” said Warburton.

“Jeff’s immense depth of experience and exposure across the broad media industry and his achievements with M&A will be a great addition to Seven West Media as we continue our hunger to transform the company.”

Lynch will leave the business on Wednesday 15 January, with Howard to begin on 20 January.

Warburton thanked Lynch for his contribution to the business over the past 24 years.

“I’d like to thank Warwick for his incredible hard work over a long period of time. Warwick has been a key part of the Seven business over many years, and I greatly appreciate his support in my first few months back at Seven.”

Lynch paid tribute to what he said had been a great career with Seven.

“I’ve had a great career at Seven working on a diverse range of challenges and opportunities. During this time I’ve had the privilege of working with incredible people, a number of different CEOs, and I’ve appreciated the support of the chairman [Kerry Stokes]. The team I’ve helped build, and the structures we have established are a significant legacy to my time at Seven. I wish the team, and the business, continued success.”

Howard’s primary experience comes through delivering shareholder value and guiding businesses through mergers and acquisitions, according to the Seven announcement. The media business has been clear in recent months that it’s keen to make waves in 2020, with Warburton declaring nothing is “on or off the table”.

Howard said: “I am thrilled to be joining Seven West Media at this exciting time. Seven is one of Australia’s best known and loved content and audience businesses, so I’m delighted to be working with James and the team on driving content-led growth, pursuing transformation and optimising SWM’s capital structure.

“I also want to congratulate Warwick on his incredible run as CFO. His hard work has set up the next stage of SWM’s story, and I look forward to succeeding him in the new year.”

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