APN Outdoor has appointed Sydney-based James Warburton as Australia & New Zealand chief executive officer, effective Monday 22 January 2018. His appointment follows the departure of veteran Richard Herring, who is retiring after 22 years in the job.
Warburton joins APNO from V8 Supercars Australia, where for the past four years he was ceo and managing director. Reports suggest Warburton resigned after the V8 Supercars board refused meet a pay-rise request.
At APN Outdoor, Warburton – who also has extensive experience in ad agencies and media – will enjoy a base salary of A$1,000,000 per annum. Predecessor Herring was on a base salary of A$734,000.
Warburton’s appointment follows the failed merger between APN and Ooh!Media, which is said to have led to the resignation of Herring.
Over the four years he was at V8 Supercars, Warburton is credited with transforming the business, growing revenues by over 40%, and Ebit by 140%.
APN Outdoor chairman Doug Flynn (also based in Sydney), welcomed the appointment as a key step in APN Outdoor’s continued growth trajectory.
“At V8 Supercars, Warburton transformed the business, growing revenues by over 40%, and Ebit by 140%.”
“James brings to the company extensive executive leadership experience, with a significant understanding of complex media environments including out-of-home media, dealing with key advertisers and media agencies, developing new income streams, and dealing with technological change and digital disruption,” he said.
Interim ceo Wayne Castle will revert to his previous role as CFO upon when Warburton starts with the group.
Warburton comes to APN Outdoor with 16 years’ experience in ceo roles with V8 Supercars Australia, Ten Network Holdings, and Universal McCann. He was also a director of Eye Corp, Ten Network’s out-of-home media business.
In addition to his ceo experience, Warburton also has 20 years’ experience in marketing and sales leadership roles at Seven Network, Yahoo! 7, DDB Needham and McCann Erickson. This included eight years as chief sales & digital officer at Seven Group with responsibility for the sales function across Seven Network, Yahoo!7 and Pacific Magazines.
Warburton said in a statement: “I am extremely excited to be back in the media industry, a sector I am passionate about.
“APN Outdoor has a strong reputation for innovation in the out-of-home industry, demonstrated by its leadership position in digital roadside billboards in Australia and its leadership in New Zealand via the strategic use of data to enhance the value proposition of out-of-home for advertisers.”
Warburton’s base salary of $1m includes superannuation and short-term incentive plans.
About APN Outdoor
APN Outdoor Group Limited is a publicly listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange. APN Outdoor’s portfolio includes 36,000 high-impact sites in attention-grabbing locations. APN Outdoor is committed to driving the Outdoor industry forward and is constantly investing in research, innovation and cutting-edge digital developments to produce improved results for its advertisers.
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