The final plank of the organisational revamp instigated by Ninemsn chief Joe Pollard has been revealed with the removal of the chief operating role from the executive team and the exit of Nick Spooner from the portal.
The new, flat reporting structure will see the five key group heads reporting direct to Pollard which includes Alex Parsons (technology and search), Dean Capobianco (Mobile), Carolyn Managh (Marketing), Andrew Hunter (Editor in Chief) and Josie Gosling (HR).
The departure of COO Spooner, a three year veteran of the company, was announced internally last Thursday, he will stay with the company until March 31st. Spooner’s broad role included overseeing the New Zealand operations, HWW, the Microsoft relationship and content. It remains unclear how these areas will be divided into the reporting groups with existing staff wondering where the “intellectual horse power” will be coming from.
The highly regarded former Optus executive said it was time to pursue other opportunities and is currently waiting on confirmation for his next appointment. It is believed that he is pursuing a chief executive role within the digital sector. Before joining Optus, Spooner worked for consultancy Accenture, focusing on interactive TV, digital TV and interactive services. Spooner has quashed speculation that he is defecting to Fairfax Digital but remains tight lipped on his next move.
The removal of the COO position is part of the ongoing restructure and consolidation of the company put in place by Pollard since August. Last month the portal shed another 25 Ninemsn staff from the web development, editorial, mobile and video sales teams.
Spooner was the last of the senior executives left standing from the old Ninemsn regime ending a year in the life of the portal punctuated by tumult and heavily revolving door. Ex Ninemsn alumni include former CEO Tony Faure, who announced his abrupt departure in June and officially left the company in August has yet to resurface in a new role. Former head of marketing Tony Thomas is now at Naked offshoot the Population, former head of innovation Jennifer Wilson has recently joined the Project Factory, while former mobile sales director Matthew Costello is the US running Fifth Finger.
Ninemsn confirmed the departure stating “over the past three years, Nick has made a significant contribution to ninemsn and leaves the business in a great place. From developing new products and innovations which have helped significantly grow the business, to establishing the ninemsn Partners team and building up the New Zealand side of the business, Nick’s achievements throughout his three-year tenure as Chief Operating Officer have been outstanding. We sincerely wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.”
