Craig Hutchison linked to CEO role at SEN: company reshuffle in progress

Following the resignation of non-executive director of Pacific Star Network (which owns sports radio station SEN) and major shareholder Ron Hall (28.4%), the Herald Sun is reporting suggestions that media company Crocmedia is set to buy a controlling interest in SEN.  

Crocmedia’s Craig Hutchison has been linked to the station’s CEO role, originally slated for former Collingwood chief Gary Pert, who had been on the SEN board for eight years. Pert’s long-term personal assistant from Collingwood had already moved to a new job at the company.

An announcement to the Stock Exchange yesterday confirmed that Pert, America’s Cup skipper John Bertrand and Michael Nettlefold quit the SEN board. Along with another board member, Peter Quattro, the three are all believed to have been forced to resign by the company’s major shareholders. 

It is believed that the four shareholders were caught by surprise by the decision to “redirect the priorities” of the company. 

Yesterday the company made the following announcement to the Stock Exchange:

Pacific Star Network Limited announces the following changes to its Board composition.

Given a change in the priorities of a number of the major shareholders of the Company, the following changes were made to the composition of the Board at its Board meeting today:
 
Mr John Bertrand AO, Mr Gary Pert, Mr Peter Quattro and Mr Michael Nettlefold (resigning directors) have resigned as directors of the Company with immediate effect;
Mr Craig Coleman and Mr Andrew Moffat have been appointed as non-executive directors of the Company with immediate effect (further information in relation to each of these appointees is set out below);
Mr Craig Coleman has been appointed Chairman of the Board;
Mr Colm O’Brien, who had announced his intention to retire from the Board in August 2017, has been asked to remain as an independent non-executive director and will do so; and
Mr Ron Hall has retired as a non-executive director of the Company and the new board has indicated that Mr Hall will be appointed as an alternate director for Mr Moffat.
 
The resigning directors believed that this was the appropriate way to resolve this change in priorities.
 

A range of official announcements about the changes in Directors interests were registered today with the ASX.


 

The Age is also reporting that the company told the stock exchange the four chose to quit at a board meeting on Wednesday in order to “resolve this change of priorities” by a number of the major shareholders.

It is unclear how the move will affect the current SEN lineup, with the station’s ratings for survey 7 down .03 points to an overall share of 3.5%. 

Croc Media has been in expansionary mode recently, with a number of new rights agreements tied up and a range of new jobs advertised recently here on the radioinfo jobs page.

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