Kerry Stokes’ right-hand man follows CEO out the door at Seven
By Calum Jaspan
Bruce McWilliam, one of Seven West Media’s most senior executives and its billionaire chairman Kerry Stokes’ closest adviser, is leaving the company.
Seven confirmed commercial director McWilliam’s departure in a statement this morning, bringing to a close his 21-year tenure at the media empire.
McWilliam will join chief executive and managing director James Warburton in leaving the company in the coming months. Warburton announced his exit in December, with plans to leave before the end of the financial year after five years. Chief financial officer Jeff Howard will be the new chief executive.
Seven Network commercial director Bruce McWilliam is leaving the company.Credit: Janie Barrett
While McWilliam has resigned from his role, a Seven spokesman said the exact date of his departure is yet to be determined.
Stokes, who is Seven’s controlling shareholder, said McWilliam has been an excellent executive across his time at Seven, involved in all major corporate initiatives across the period. He was also a director at Stokes’ Seven Group Holdings conglomerate, which owns companies such as Caterpillar dealer WesTrac and industrial-equipment hire company Coates.
“I thank Bruce for his significant contribution to Seven West Media and Seven Group Holdings and wish him and [his wife] Nicky all the best in the future,” Stokes said.
McWilliam played a crucial role in the company’s defence of former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith after he sued The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times for defamation over a series of articles alleging that he had committed war crimes while on tour in Afghanistan.
Stokes financially backed Roberts-Smith, who was employed by the Seven Network as general manager of its Queensland operations, via his private company ACE throughout the case.
A judge ruled in favour of the newspapers in June last year, with an appeal from Roberts-Smith ongoing.
In December Stokes opted to pay the legal fees of Nine, owner of this masthead, in the Roberts-Smith defamation case after a judge ordered the release of 8600 emails between Stokes, McWilliam and the former soldier’s legal team, some of which were described as “personally embarrassing” by Federal Court judge Nye Perram.
In covering both sides’ legal costs, which were estimated at $30 million, Seven managed to stop the release of the communications.
A veteran of Australian media across six decades, McWilliam worked closely with some of the country’s most powerful proprietors, including Rupert Murdoch and the late Kerry Packer.
“Working with Kerry Stokes and James Warburton in his two iterations at Seven has never been dull,” he said in the statement announcing his departure. “I’m very proud of my association with Seven and the Seven team, and I wish them every success in the years ahead. Moving forward, I’ll be focused on my corporate and media advisory and property interests.”
Departing CEO James Warburton called McWilliam a doyen of the industry and fundamental to the company across two decades.
“Working with Bruce has always been very rewarding and entertaining, and he is always extremely generous with his time and advice,” he said.
The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.