At 4pm, word finally came down the chain. Sneesby had survived.
We may never become privy to what happened inside the Nine boardroom that day. But at 4.02pm Sneesby, Costello and the head of human resources, Vanessa Morley released a joint announcement to staff that conveyed a determination to fight on in the face of intense pressure from its staff, its competitors (who were circling what they considered to be a wounded beast), governance detractors and a few nervous shareholders.
Nine olympics Credit: Janie Barrett
Nine would commission an external independent review, establish a dedicated sexual harassment hotline, conduct an anonymous survey on sexual harassment and have all staff complete refreshed sexual harassment prevention training.
This, the board presumably reasoned, was enough to allow it and management to maintain a holding pattern – at least until the contents of his external review came to light. That big reveal, we now know, is scheduled for late October. Sneesby will leave the business on September 30.
The investigation will almost certainly reveal cultural rot in parts of the business, the real question will be the degree of it.
As for the timing of the announcement of Sneesby’s departure, it’s no accident that the Olympic and Paralympic Games – which Nine has successfully broadcast – came to a close this week. Meanwhile, the major cost-cutting drive which involved redundancies across broadcast and publishing assets is still making its way through the system.
A carefully worded staff message on Thursday conveyed an ambiguous message about who made the decision for Sneesby to resign.
“Recently when our Board opened a discussion with me about my tenure, we agreed that the timing was right to commence a leadership transition.”
Three and a bit years in the job is well shy of the average CEO tenure. And the mutual agreement suggests the board agreed it was time for Sneesby to go.
So, how did Sneesby do in his relatively short tenure? Well, the market value of the Nine since his elevation to the top job has fallen by 60 per cent, so shareholders aren’t necessarily going to line up with tributes.
Loading
Sneesby’s greatest achievement, creating the streaming service Stan, was the reason he was Costello’s captain’s pick for the CEO job in 2021, and while he did progress Nine digital ambitions across publishing and broadcasting, the group’s legacy assets are still vulnerable to a buffeting from structural and cyclical winds. Nine’s latest results, in which its earnings fell 12 per cent, are testament to that.
There is no replacement lined up, so investors will be waiting anxiously to see whether a top drawer executive can be parachuted in or whether Nine will follow Seven’s lead and elevate the chief financial officer – Matt Stanton in their case – to the role.
With Sneesby now out of the picture it will leave the board to contend with whatever emerges from the forensic investigation of Nine’s culture.
It will be fascinating to see how this game of survival plays out.
The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.
