Michael Miller, newly appointed chief executive of APN News & Media, is one of News Limited's quiet achievers.
And it is that hands-on operational experience is “precisely what the company needs,” according to chairman Peter Cosgrove.
Today’s announcement will no doubt have been influenced by consultant-at-large Brian McCarthy, and comes as the former Fairfax Media chief executive was quoted (by Darren Davidson of The Australian) as saying he is ready for a new challenge… but as he’s made clear already, not that one.
Miller is currently News’ NSW regional director, a position to which he was moved almost a year ago as part of Kim Williams’ reorganisation (and rebalancing) of the group’s publishing structure.
He joined News in 1992 after a couple of years as a media analyst with Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia (CEASA). From an analyst role in News’ marketing department, he started a steady upward rise with roles as marketing director of Herald & Weekly Times and then News Limited itself, before heading to Adelaide as managing director of Advertiser Newspapers.
He has been a director of News since 2004, and is also a director of carsguide.com.au, the Committee for Sydney, Waratahs Rugby and the Audit Bureau of Circulations. A directorship at Fox Sports Australia is also on the CV.
He’d been back in Sydney as managing director of Nationwide News for a year before getting the call from Williams which led to his present job.
It’s a 24-year career path which positioned him well for the APN role, which arose somewhat suddenly when the previous incumbent – and much of the ANZ publisher’s board – found itself at odds with its Irish dominant shareholder.
Cosgrove – whose background is with Dublin-based INM, but is at pains to distance it from the decision – says Miller’s “experience in publishing, digital, broadcast, and sports businesses would be of significant benefit to APN”.
“We are currently focused on reengineering our publishing operations in both Australia and New Zealand, expanding our digital business to interact more closely with the publishing operations, as well as creating new products and Michael is the right person to lead this process.”
He also points to Miller’s familiarity with the NZ media landscape, having been a director of Sky Network Television as it grew to become a top ten NZ listed company.
There will have been a discussion of the board’s intended direction and the assumption is that Miller sees the future in a similar decision. He’s on record saying the New Zealand Herald is “leading the way in the transformation of metropolitan media”, and that regional newspapers will continue to have an important role in their communities for many years to come.
“While there are undoubted challenges ahead for media businesses, the opportunity to align these strong brands with APN’s digital assets, and develop new integrated opportunities was too good to pass up.”
So that’s all right then. And if it proves a hard furrow to plough, base salary of $1.2 million per annum “plus short and long term incentives consistent with market practice” will help make it the more worthwhile.
Peter Coleman