PMP poaches print boss from Fairfax

The leadership swap at the top of the two companies means Kirk’s appointment as CEO of Fairfax is now pushed forward a month to October 17, while Evans, currently Fairfax chief operating officer, will step up as CEO and managing director of PMP from October 31.

Evans only took up the post as COO of Fairfax in June this year, following two years as CEO of Fairfax New Zealand, where he was accredited with securing the improved performance of the New Zealand Herald. Ironically he was the force behind the decision to buy PMP’s redundant web presses in Australia and ship them to NZ. It is widely believed Evans had his sights set on getting the top job at Fairfax to replace departing CEO Fred Hilmer.

“You win some, you lose some. I want to be a chief executive of a listed company but that couldn’t happen at Fairfax,” Evans commented in the Australian Financial Review.

Graham Reaney, chairman at PMP, cites Evans’ performance at Fairfax NZ as one of the contributing factors to his new appointment. “We warmly welcome Brian to PMP and look forward to him leading the company and completing the implementation of the partially completed profit improvement strategy. We are confident Brian will successfully take PMP through the next important phase of the company’s growth,” says Reaney.

Evans will receive a base salary of $900,000 per annum in his new position at PMP, and may receive up to 3.6 million company shares depending on the status of the share price. The sign-on consideration entitles Evans to as many as 360,000 PMP shares, (currently trading at $1.64 per share) with 120,000 allocated annually after the first, second and third year of service from the commencement date.

In spite of Evans being pipped at the post by a candidate from outside the company, in the same way that Fred Hilmer came into the company from outside, Ronald Walker, new chairman of the board at Fairfax, has emphasised the company looks internally when filling important management positions. “Fairfax has great depth of management in the company, built up over many years. The company's succession planning enables us to continue to fill key management positions internally,” he says.