Weldon walks from MediaWorks

After 21 months as MediaWorks group chief executive, Mark Weldon has resigned.

A statement from the company says he offered his resignation last night, which the board accepted.

MediaWorks' chief financial officer David Chalmers will act as CEO until a permanent replacement is found.

Mr Weldon will apparently continue "to assist the board on strategic projects," according to chairman Rod McGeoch.

Mr Weldon says he came to the decision because “the personal cost is now too high to continue in this role.”

The release also quotes Mr Weldon as saying he has always had the support for the strategy he has overseen to return a post-receivership MediaWorks to a position of being “a strong competitor in the market, with a sound and sustainable future.”

According to Mr Weldon, “we have made significant progress as a business. Yesterday I shared with staff that in our profit growth, we have hit our first quarter targets and that, overall, audiences are growing and innovative strategies such as the introduction of Newshub have been well received and are delivering results. 

“Yesterday, we announced a major joint-venture deal with NBC, the first of its kind outside the US."

Mr Weldon says he is confident he is leaving the company in better shape than he found it when he took up the leadership position in August 2014 and that he hopes “the next chapter for MediaWorks will further strengthen the business and ensure New Zealanders continue to enjoy what it has to offer.”

"The board is very grateful for Mark’s success in driving change through the entire organisation,” says Mr McGeoch. “Under his leadership, MediaWorks has truly become an integrated company.”

Mr McGeoch also says “the board has complete confidence that the company will continue its momentum and growth” and emphasises that “the strategy initiated by Mark will continue."

Mr Weldon's resignation follows a string of high-profile staff departures – including two-thirds of the senior management team at the end of 2014, broadcasters John Campbell and Hilary Barry, and head of news Mark Jennings – and a number of public relations disasters, including breaking the embargo of a recent Reserve Bank lock-up by TV3 Newshub reporters.

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