Ten CEO Paul Anderson steps down
Ten CEO and ViacomCBS ANZ VP Paul Anderson has stepped down from his position.
He will not be directly replaced, with Beverley McGarvey promoted to become chief content officer and executive vice president across combined operations.
Anderson has been with Ten for 17 years and in the CEO role for almost five. He moved into the expanded role with ViacomCBS in January, expanding his position to include the title of executive vice president for ViacomCBS Networks Australia and New Zealand, giving him control over the company’s other TV assets in the region.
The new role included Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. as well as a range of associated businesses.
Anderson’s promotion followed the merger between Viacom and CBS Corporation which occurred in 2019. CBS acquired Ten in November 2017. The business is currently in the process of ending its sales relationship with Foxtel Media, with Rod Prosser, Ten’s chief sales officer, to oversee both Ten and ViacomCBS’ sales team. The partnership will end by mid-April.
Paul moved into a bigger remit with ViacomCBS in January
In a statement, ViacomCBS said it would not be appointing a direct replacement for Anderson, but would appoint ‘co-leads’ for the business. That includes the promotion of McGarvey to chief content officer and executive vice president across the whole business. McGarvey is already the chief content officer for Ten.
Anderson’s resignation is effective immediately, but he has agreed to stay in his role in the interim as the company ‘transitions to a new management’.
ViacomCBS plans to introduce a new management structure for Australia and New Zealand, with the new co-leads reporting to President of VCNI’s operations in Australia and the UK, Maria Kyriacou. The business also ‘reorganised’ its team in January, moving Viacom Australia general manager, Ben Richardson, to report in to Anderson as GM, SVP, ViacomCBS Pay Networks and Ten business development.
In this restructure, Kyriacou assumed a new position atop the business in the UK and ANZ, with Anderson reporting directly to her. An announcement from ViacomCBS CEO David Lynn at the time said the business was very impressed with Anderson’s work at Ten.
“The progress that Ten has made under Paul’s leadership in strengthening its schedules, rebranding its portfolio and accelerating its streaming strategy has been impressive,” Lynn said.
ViacomCBS is now on the hunt for a co-lead to work alongside McGarvey who will be responsible for all content and creative activities in ANZ. The new co-lead will head up commercial activities and operations.
McGarvey has been appointed as one of the ‘co-leads’ of ViacomCBS and Ten in Australia
In the interim, Henriette Rothschild has been appointed as chief transformation officer. Rothschild is a partner at the advisory and investment firm KordaMentha and brings experience as chief operating officer at iSelect and regional managing director of the global management consulting firm Hay Group.
Regarding the departure, Kyriacou said: “I would like to thank Paul for his leadership of Network Ten; it is a credit to him and his team that the business has continued to compete and evolve despite the inevitable distractions that have come with recent changes in ownership. I’m grateful for the ongoing support he has offered me to help the business transition to a new management team and structure.
“Beverley is an experienced creative leader with a great track record of serving local audiences. She shares my excitement about the extra dimension that ViacomCBS’s ownership can bring to our business in Australia and I’m looking forward to working with her, Henriette and the rest of the senior leadership team to realise those benefits.
“The appointment of Henriette reflects the work we are undertaking to ensure the merged Network Ten and ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand businesses are well positioned for the future.”
Anderson said: “The past 17 years at Network Ten have been the best years of my professional life. I have worked with some extraordinary people – both in front of and behind the camera – and have been given some amazing opportunities. Now it’s time for me to try something different and eventually look for new opportunities and experiences.
“Thanks to the hard work, passion and professionalism of everyone at Network Ten, and now as part of ViacomCBS, the business is extremely well placed for the future. The combination of Network Ten and ViacomCBS is a real game-changer in the Australian market, creating a unique and powerful media group that owns some of the most innovative entertainment and media brands locally and globally.
“I’m very excited about the future of Network Ten and about what the future holds for me and my family.”
Anderson joined Ten in 2003. He was appointed chief financial officer in 2011 and took on the additional role of chief operating officer in 2014. He was appointed CEO in July 2015.
topics
Ben Richardson
Beverley McGarvey
David Lynn
Maria Kyriacou
Paul Anderson
Rod Prosser
Ten
ViacomCBS
This is no surprise. When will networks, or the public, realise that these networks are doomed?
If they weren’t so complacent, they would’ve invented Netflix…
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Sad to see but he has has plenty of time to make changes and turn things around. This decision should of been made when CBS took over and they perhaps should of refreshed management and started with a clean break. McGarvey would be concerned. The slate is not original, all programming comes from suppliers. The best thing on TEN is The Project, HYBPA and perhaps the Bachelor… Too thin to sustain. They need to get the AFL rights and re-launch.
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He is a very good operator, great people person and did an amazing job to ‘settle the ship’ in uncertain times.
TEN is improving daily……….sorry to see him go. Its a loss for FTA and the new business it is becomming.
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Not accurate at all given the rise of BVOD (Broadcast Video On Demand) which is seeing exponential growth in consumption for the FTA networks. How are they doomed when businesses can’t even advertisers on Netflix…complacent would not be the word I would use given the investment into those platforms….try again?
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