Stokes’ son to be Seven CEO
Seven Group Holdings has announced that Ryan Stokes, the 38-year-old son of company founder Kerry Stokes, will be its new chief executive.
Current chief executive Don Voelte, who has been in the job less than two years, will retire at the end of August.
Ryan Stokes, the third-oldest of billionaire Kerry’s four children, has been Seven’s operating officer since 2012.
Seven Group (SGH) has various interests, including industrial services, media, property and resources investments mainly in Australia and China.
That includes the Seven TV network, West Australian newspapers and WesTrac, the dealer of Caterpillar heavy machinery.
Seven announced a 74 per cent fall in first half net profit to $68.5 million in February because of weakness in the mining and media sectors.
Ryan Stokes says the company’s core strategy is intact and he will focus on building businesses that provide returns for all stakeholders by enhancing market leading positions and identifying growth opportunities.
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“SGH is in very good shape in what are challenging times, and our focus will remain on effectively deploying our available capital to enhance shareholder returns,” he said.
Stokes was chief executive of Pacific Magazines from 2004 to 2008.
His mother Denise was the second of Kerry Stokes’ four wives.
Voelte, an American national and former Woodside Petroleum chief executive, said it was time for him to place the needs of his family in the US first.
