The chief executive of Nine Entertainment, Hugh Marks, has abruptly resigned after five years running the company.
“I have decided the time is right for me begin the process of moving on,” Marks said in an email to staff.
“An announcement to this effect will be made to the market on Monday and we will then commence a formal process for both internal and external candidates for my replacement. And of course, I will be around to ensure a smooth transition as the business embarks on its next stage of growth.”
The email, which was sent to staff on Saturday afternoon, did not give reasons for Marks’s leaving.
“I want to take this opportunity to tell you what a privilege it has been leading this business over a truly transformational period for both the media market generally, and particularly our business,” Marks wrote.
“We have gone from being three separate, legacy media businesses in Nine, Fairfax Media and Macquarie Media, each with their own structural challenges, and created a business that now has a diversified revenue base across both advertising and subscription, and that has a clear growth strategy for decades to come.
“In particular, I want to thank our Chairman Peter Costello for the extraordinary support he has given to me and to the entire business over the past five years. His commitment to us all and to our future success is without peer.”
The shock announcement comes two days after the annual general meeting at which Marks presented a positive outlook for the company, which expects a 30% boost in earnings for the first half of the financial year
Marks was at the helm two years ago when Nine acquired Fairfax Media’s the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age and the company is now second only to News Corp Australia in size due to streaming service Stan, radio 2GB and Channel Nine.
At the AGM, Costello was asked about a story in News Corp papers in May that suggested Marks was in a relationship with his executive assistant. Costello said the matter had been investigated and Marks had not breached any company codes.
Divorced this year, Marks is now in a committed relationship with former Nine commercial director Alexi Baker, who left the company last month.
Guardian Australia understands News Corp has been pursuing stories about Marks’s private life in recent days after using a paparazzo to take photos of him in a park in May.
