‘It’s been an incredible journey’: JCDecaux ANZ CEO steps down after 20 years
Steve O’Connor has announced that he will step down as CEO of JCDecaux Australia and New Zealand after 20 years with the company.
Announced on Monday, chief commercial officer, Max Eburne, and chief financial officer, David Watkins, will become co-CEOs when O’Connor departs at the end of the year.
Jean-François Decaux, Co-Chief Executive Officer of JCDecaux, said: “Steve’s leadership over the past 20 years has been integral to JCDecaux’s growth in Australia and New Zealand.
“His role in integrating APN Outdoor into our business was pivotal, and we are grateful for his contribution. He leaves behind a business well-positioned for the future.”
O’Connor said: “It’s been an incredible journey building JCDecaux in Australia and New Zealand over the past two decades. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and I thank everyone who has supported me and the company.
“Max and David are well-prepared to lead the business into the future. I’m looking forward to spending more time on my cattle farm, travelling, and contemplating the next chapter of my life.”
On the appointments of Max and David, Jean-François Decaux added: “Max and David are natural successors to Steve as co-CEOs. Their combined experience and deep understanding of our business will ensure continued growth. The dual CEO structure has been successfully implemented in several JCDecaux subsidiaries and will position the business well for continued success.”
Eburne said: “I’m grateful to Steve for his leadership over the past 16 years we’ve worked together. David and I have highly complementary skills and experience and will take great pride in leading the immensely talented team at JCDecaux to evolve and thrive in the future.
“Together we will lead with a shared focus on innovation and delivering results for clients. We are excited about the future of out-of-home, and we’ll continue to focus on effective outcomes for brands and agencies.”
Watkins said: “I’m excited to work with Max to lead JCDecaux Australia and New Zealand. This is a great opportunity and we’re ready to build on the strong foundation Steve has left.
“The out-of-home industry has strong, long-term fundamentals, and JCDecaux will continue to invest and innovate. We have a great team of exceptional people, strong contracts, and plenty of opportunities ahead. I’m looking forward to delivering on our strategy and making the most of what’s coming in 2025 and beyond.”
Appearing on a recent episode of Mumbrella’s one-on-one podcast series just last month, O’Connor said he believes that digital advertising had hit a roof.
“Our view is that [digital advertising] will get above 80%, but probably not much more than that because there is a number of advertisers out there who still want to occupy a sign – 24/7 – and not share it with anyone else,” he explained.
“And there’s also a need for outdoor to play a role in terms of that point of sale. So, directional signs, as we call it – McDonald’s around the corner, two kilometers etc – that will always be static. And I think also one of the reasons why that digitalisation is becoming so prolific is that a lot of the old sites that aren’t worthy of being digitised are being rationalised and all the good sites are being digitised.”
O’Connor said the one format of OOH that can not be digitised yet is bus and tram advertising and, in his view, that will always be the sticking point.
“Transit will become the only campaign or static medium down the track and everything else will be done digitally, other than things like directional signage… and beyond advertisers who may want to buy a sign and have it permanently as a 24 by seven proposition for themselves.
“It’s getting to the point where I think digitisation will get to 80% and I think that’s pretty much where we’ll cap out.”
Listen to the full podcast with O’Connor here.
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