Following on from Friday’s misguided prediction by B&T that News Corp’s outgoing chief commercial officer, Sharb Farjami, had been sounded out for CEO role at Fairfax, The Australian is this morning reporting that the CEO of Fairfax’s real estate business Domain, Antony Catalano, is considered the frontrunner for the job.
There is also speculation that boss of struggling magazine business Pacific Magazine’s Peter Zavecz is headed back to his old employer, News Corp, to replace Farjami as its CCO. Zavecz has been CEO at Pacific since December 2014 and has presided over a difficult time that has seen magazines close and print circulations plummet.
Incumbent Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood is reportedly set to stand down from the role in 2017. B&T has contacted Fairfax for comment, however the business is in a media blackout this week pending the announcement of its end of year financials on Wednesday. Catalano’s stocks for the top job will certainly rise if Domain’s profits (as expected) head north.
The Oz is reporting that although Catlano is the frontrunner to replace Hywood, however, the managing director of its Media Events, Andew McEvoy, is also highly thought of by the Fairfax board and is also considered a strong contender.
However, the role is considered somewhat of a poisoned chalice as Fairfax attempts to transition the business to a more diversified and digital business – that has included a number of staff redundancies. There has also been ongoing speculation that the publisher will soon can the print editions of both The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
