oOh!media confirms appointment of Cathy O’Connor as Managing Director & CEO

oOh!media has announced the appointment of Cathy O’Connor as managing director and chief executive officer, from early 2021.

This follows the announcement of Peter Charlton as the new Nova CEO replacing O’Connor.

O’Connor comes to oOh!media with 35 years of sales experience working for Australian media organisations, including the last 12 years as CEO of Nova Entertainment Group and five years prior to that as Managing Director of DMG Radio. 

O’Connor's appointment follows a global search for a replacement for founder and CEO, Brendon Cook, who earlier this year announced his intention to stand down from the role after more than 30 years.

See more: oOh!media CEO Brendon Cook on financial results amidst COVID-19

O’Connor will join the company’s executive team in early 2021. Cook will continue to consult until at least the end of 2021.

Chair of the oOh! Board, Tony Faure said:

“The Board was pleased to be able to attract a high-quality field of candidates, and after significant consideration, we felt Cathy was the ideal person to lead oOh! in its next stage of growth. We would also like to place on record our thanks to Brendon for his continued commitment and professionalism in navigating through the pandemic, and for agreeing to stay on until the end of this year.

“Cathy, who is highly regarded by the industry, brings extensive experience as a leader of successful media organisations, and in her most recent role at Nova, has created significant value.

“She brings a range of qualities which we felt were suited to taking the business through its next stage of growth, in particular her proven success in steering a media sales organisation, leading the technology strategy and driving organic growth initiatives, even in the most challenging of environments.

“Cathy has a balanced and engaging leadership style and brings a number of other qualities that we felt were important for the business, including a demonstrated ability to drive efficiencies, develop great teams and build strong networks in both the corporate and agency environments.

O’Connor said of her new role:

“Despite the challenges of 2020, the out of home sector is an exciting place to be in, with strong growth prospects and increasing prominence in a digital future.

“oOh! is a great business with an extensive national reach backed by both leading data smarts and a fantastic team of professionals that are the best in their field.

“I am looking forward to joining the team and building on oOh!’s success and guiding the Company’s next phase of growth.”