Hugh Marks to Step Down at Nine

Hugh Marks is stepping down as CEO of Nine Entertainment in 2021.

Marks says he will exit the Australian media company in the second half of next year. Until then, he will continue to serve as group CEO, participating in the evaluation of internal and external candidates to succeed him.

“When I was appointed CEO five years ago, my brief was to lead the transformation of what was then a television business, to a digitally based media company,” Marks said. “We have achieved so much in that time frame. Bringing together three legacy media businesses, each with their own structural challenges, and investing in the assets that will ensure our position at the forefront of Australia’s media future. Nine’s suite of assets today—with Stan, 9Now and Domain, complementing our core broadcast and publishing businesses—is second to none in Australia. With almost 50 percent of our earnings sourced from our digital assets providing a clear growth profile for the company, I am confident this is an opportune time to announce my retirement, whilst giving the Board plenty of time to appoint a successor. I also believe that Nine has an incredibly strong management team, leading it across all its businesses.”

Peter Costello, board chairman, added, “Hugh has been an extremely successful CEO for Nine, and has achieved so much in building the company in his time at the helm. The transformation of Nine to a multimedia and digital business has been all-encompassing and we now have an unreplicable suite of assets, fit to lead us through the digital age. We respect Hugh’s decision, allowing us plenty of notice to work through the next few months and enable an orderly transition. We wish him well in all his future endeavors.”