News Corps’ CEO Julian Clarke To Retire; Peter Tonagh To Step Up

A lone business executive looking out of the window in a boardroom

Big news in the media space on this Friday morning with News Corp having a massive shake up of its executive team following the announcement its current CEO Julian Clarke will retire from the company.

The current chief operating officer, Peter Tonagh, will step into Clarke’s place as CEO.

In further news, APN News & Media has announced its CEO Michael Miller will resign from his role, and will move to the role of executive chairman of News Corp Australasia.

To replace the vacant CEO role at APN News & Media, the current CEO of the Australian Radio Network’s (ARN) CEO Ciaran Davis will step into the position.

So to recap – For News Corp, Clarke will retire, Tonagh will be CEO and Miller executive chairman.

For APN and ARN – Davis will be CEO of APN News & Media, ARN will be on the hunt for a new CEO

Right, got all those changes? Phew.

Both Tonagh and Miller’s new roles at News Corp will report to the global CEO of News Corporation, Robert Thomson.

The role shuffling won’t take place for another few months however, with Clarke stepping down as News Corp CEO at the end of this year, and Davis to take the CEO role at APN News & Media at the start of September.

Of the News Corp appointments, global CEO Thompson said the company has two of the region’s most talented executives driving development.

“Our clear plan is to use Australia as a base for a significant expansion of our presence in Asia, while ensuring that our traditional businesses in Australia are developed to their full potential,” he said.

“Whether in broadcasting or the powerful platform that is print or in digital classifieds, we have a team that will vigorously pursue growth and strive to inculcate the sense of social purpose that has always been the cornerstone of the News Corp culture.

“We must all recognise the genuinely extraordinary work of Julian Clarke, who has helped to fortify the foundations for our future, and done so with dignity, creativity and integrity. Julian’s contribution to the company and to Australia will echo for many, many years to come.”

Regarding the reshuffles at APN News & Media, chairman of APN Peter Cosgrove thanked Miller for his contribution in leading the company.

“He has done an excellent job setting the growth platform for APN and building a strong leadership team,” said Cosgrove.

“Michael will work side by side with Ciaran to ensure the smoothest possible transition for the business, and, on behalf of the Board, we wish Michael all the best in his future endeavours.”

Speaking about the new appointment of ARN’s Davis to the new role as APN CEO, Cosgrove said: “Ciaran’s outstanding leadership and successes at ARN, including taking the Company to be Australia’s number one metropolitan radio network, made him the natural successor to replace Michael Miller.

“Ciaran’s ability to execute and communicate complex business plans, overlaid with years of international media experience, means he is ideally placed to build on the strong momentum and growth strategy we have in place.”

Davis will continue to be CEO of ARN until September and will continue to oversee the radio business while the company looks for a successor.

APN News & Media is the parent company for ARN.

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