The role would be advertised, Sky said. Peterson had elected not to put her hand up for the role and would leave the business on Thursday next week.<\/p>\n
Sky TV CEO Sophie Moloney. <\/p>\n
Peterson was hailed by Sky chief executive Sophie Moloney when she joined the business in August.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are delighted to welcome Juliet to this newly-created role at Sky,\u201d Moloney said at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer many years of experience in the New Zealand free-to-air market are highly valuable as we look to maximise the potential of our new Sky Free business, which has positioned Sky to scale faster and to grow and further diversify our revenue streams, particularly in advertising and digital.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am looking forward to her contribution as chief business officer and as a key member of our executive team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, Sky has been battling a softer advertising market and criticism from within the company<\/a> after it lost its pivotal former sales boss, Ben Gibb.<\/p>\n Gibb, now at QMS, is likely a leading candidate for the new executive role.<\/p>\n In late February, Sky TV delivered what it called a \u201cstrong\u201d half-year result: a $19.3 million after-tax underlying profit with revenue boosted by its acquisition of Three, but it said economic conditions \u201cremain challenging in the near term\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\n Over the past five years, the company has lost a number of executives and senior leaders \u2013 just two of the nine executives who were there in 2019 remain today. Others have come and gone in that time.<\/p>\n Sky said today that Peterson had led its sales teams and the\u202fSky Free business through \u201can important\u202fand complex\u202fperiod\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWith good progress made on the integration, the leadership role for Sky Business is now evolving into a dedicated sales focus, with a new role of chief sales officer replacing the chief business officer role,\u201d the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile this more defined\u202fsales\u202ffocus\u202fis important for Sky\u202fat this juncture,\u202fJuliet\u2019s skills and experience span a wider range of\u202fmedia company leadership, and she has decided not to take the chief sales officer role.\u201d<\/p>\n Moloney said: \u201cJuliet has made a significant contribution to Sky since the acquisition of the Sky Free business. Her expertise, leadership and insights have been highly valuable during the integration of the two businesses, and her care for the Sky Free team has been instrumental in leading our crew through change. She leaves with our gratitude and very best wishes for the future.\u201d <\/p>\n Sky said its chief financial officer, David Mackrell, would hold the chief sales officer role on an interim basis, until a permanent executive was recruited.<\/p>\n Juliet Peterson, sharpshooter<\/p>\n Peterson has had a full life outside of her media industry roles, including as a Commonwealth Games shooting medallist.<\/p>\n Competing under her maiden name, Juliet Etherington, she claimed bronze in Manchester in 2002 and bronze and silver in Melbourne in 2006. She\u2019d have likely made the Olympics in the same era if it wasn\u2019t for the fact that only men could compete in her specialist event, the 50m rifle prone.<\/p>\n Peterson officially took the reins as Warner Bros Discovery\u2019s New Zealand and Australia head of networks from Glen Kyne in July 2024, the day after the company\u2019s Newshub news operation closed down.<\/p>\n Peterson, who has also had long stints at TV3 and TVNZ over more than two decades, inherited a new-look company, one that had been through the wringer, having lost almost 300 staff.<\/p>\n