Shine Oz CEOs to depart

Brothers Mark and Carl Fennessy will depart as CEOs of Shine Australia when their contracts expire later this year after turning down the offer to run the Endemol Shine Group in Oz.

Carl and Mark Fennessy

As a result, Shine Australia and Endemol Australia will continue to operate independently until the structure, leadership and start date of the merged businesses are determined.

The Fennessy brothers, who launched Shine Australia five years ago after being poached from FremantleMedia Australia (FMA), have not set an exit date.

“They will see out executive duties on the current slate of programming before leaving later this year,” according to a statement from Endemol Shine Group.

The brothers have signalled they will take a break after relinquishing their posts at Shine. It’s widely expected they will then resume their careers as independent producers.

The duo formed and led prodco Crackerjack, which was acquired by FremantleMedia in 2003.

The statement referred to “a period of negotiation with Endemol Shine Group regarding the pair’s future beyond their existing contract.”

The brothers were torn between the opportunity to run the much larger, merged company or to return to their independent roots and finally made their decision last week, C21 understands.

When they joined Shine it’s believed they negotiated a lucrative earn-out clause in their contracts which were due to expire mid-year.

In a statement the brothers said: “We have loved our time at Shine and remain immensely proud of the business we have built. We sincerely thank our brilliant, loyal and dedicated team who have worked beside us every day on this extraordinary journey. We wish the Endemol Shine Group every success in the future and look forward to a welcome break ahead of our next adventure.”

Endemol Shine Group CEO Sophie Turner Laing said: “Mark and Carl have built Shine Australia into a great business for which they deserve much credit, but I understand and am respectful of their decision to move on at this juncture.

“They truly deserve a break before deciding what their longer-term future holds and we wish them the best for whatever that may be. We continue to explore the best way for two talented, brilliant teams in Australia to come together, the plans for which we look forward to announcing in the forthcoming months.”

That implies no announcement is imminent although co-CEO of international operations Martha Brass, who is overseeing the process, is due to arrive in Sydney next week.

Last month Banijay Group-owned Screentime announced it is hiring Rory Callaghan, Shine Australia’s executive director for the past three years, as its new CEO. He will depart after his contract expires later this year.

Shine is producing The Voice for the Nine Network, the drama Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door for Seven, and, for Network Ten, MasterChef Australia, The Biggest Loser and The Bachelor Australia. The Great Australian Spelling Bee is in pre-production for Ten.

Janeen Faithfull continues as CEO of Endemol Australia.