Foxtel wants ‘flatter structure’, COO exits

Australian pay TV leader Foxtel’s COO, Rohan Lund, is leaving as the News Corp-backed firm seeks a “flatter executive structure”.

Lund joined Foxtel in 2013 from Seven West Media, where he was also COO.

From September, his duties at Foxtel will be split between an existing financial division, a broadband unit and a new products and operations division.

This restructure would allow Foxtel to “maximise the company’s ability to capitalise on recent growth initiatives and new product launches”, it said in a statement to local press.

Foxtel CEO Richard Freudenstein said the firm needed a “flatter executive structure by appointing senior executives to take direct responsibility for them”.

He referenced “significant changes” to the business such as the launch of Seven joint venture SVOD platform Presto Entertainment and new broadband products, and said discussions with Lund had resulted with the notion the COO post was no longer required.

Lund will remain with Foxtel until September “see through the remaining phase of the programs he has led and to help me with the transition into the new structure”.