Southern Cross Austereo CEO Jeff Howard in sudden exit

Tim Burrowes

February 23, 2026 5:51

Southern Cross Austereo CEO Jeff Howard in sudden exit

Howard is gone

Jeff Howard, the boss of the newly merged Southern Cross Austereo and Seven West Media, has suddenly departed the company, the night before he was due to front his first release of ASX results.

The unexpected announcement came in an update after the market closed on Monday night.

John Kelly, who ran SCA until the merger and then stepped down to lead the audio division after the deal completed, has been made interim CEO for TV and radio. New chair Heith Mackay-Cruise – who took over from Kerry Stokes today – will now become interim executive chair, signalling that he will be running the business on a day to day basis.

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Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.