Ex-MediaWorks boss Sussan Turner joins NZME board

Sussan Turner is joining the NZME board. / File

Former group chief executive of MediaWorks Sussan Turner has joined the NZME board as an independent director.

NZME, owner of the NZ Herald, Newstalk ZB and a suite of entertainment radio stations including ZM and The Hits, announced Turner's appointment at its annual meeting in Auckland today.

She takes up the role from July 16 and will join chairman Peter Cullinane and independent directors Carol Campbell, Barbara Chapman and David Gibson.

Turner has held three executive positions inside the media industry across a 30-year period, the most recent being that of group CEO for MediaWorks, which she left in 2014. She has also served on the board of TVNZ.

Cullinane said this afternoon: "I am delighted to welcome Sussan Turner to the NZME board. Sussan's extensive management and governance experience in media, together with her skills in transforming and building new business models will complement the existing mix of skills and experience on our board."

At the company's annual meeting, NZME chief executive Michael Boggs said the media company was excited about the growth potential of its classified advertising platforms YUDU, OneRoof and Driven.

"We think our leading audience, brands and deep-rooted industry relationships provide a tremendous opportunity to establish these new brands," Boggs told shareholders in Auckland today.

Online property resource OneRoof, which provides buyers, sellers and renters with property data and information to make more informed decisions, has experienced rapid growth since it launched in April.

It is already profiling more than 50 per cent of total for-sale listings in New Zealand.

Jobseekers website YUDU, which consists of job advertisments, news articles, employment advice, industry trends and insights, is targeting the estimated 43 per cent of workers not actively looking for a job.

NZME's motoring platform Driven today carries more than 34,000 vehicle listings and represents an estimated 60 per cent of total dealer listings in the market.

"We believe the opportunity in the digital classifieds space is attractive and justifies our investment of capital and resources," Boggs said.

"Revenue opportunities from these platforms are aligned with our objective of becoming a growth business in the medium term."

NZME net profit after tax was $20.9 million in the 2017 financial year.

The company's focus is to continue to grow its audience and engagement levels through its premium content and the implementation of a paywall.

New Zealand Herald readership numbers are on the rise, with print daily readership up 11 per cent on the previous quarter and up 8 per cent year-on-year, in line with numbers recorded in 2014.

Close to 460,000 people read the New Zealand Herald each day.

NZME shares are trading at 85 cents.