Heith Mackay-Cruise is stepping down as chair of Southern Cross Media Group.
The action follows a call by activist investor Sandon Capital for Mackay-Cruise to be replaced.
The board of directors has appointed Teresa Dyson as chair-elect effective from July 1.
Funds manager Sandon, holding more than 5% of SCA’s shares, had intended to move resolutions at the next AGM to remove Heith Mackay-Cruise and directors Ido Leffler and Marina Go.
Sandon had opposed the merger which created Southern Cross Media. The takeover of Seven West Media by SCA was meant to create a company with a market capitalisation of $430 million. The company’s shares closed on Friday at 59.5 cents each, giving a market value of $285 million.
Mackay-Cruise said he is proud to have overseen the restructuring of the company, combining with Seven West Media to create the largest commercial media platform that services all of Australia.
"With the appointment of Rohan Lund as our new managing director and chief executive officer, I believe SCA is well-positioned for the future, and it is the right time for me to move on to other challenges," he said.
Mackay-Cruise, who was chair of SCA, became chair of the combined group in February this year when billionaire Kerry Stokes stepped down.
Southern Cross CEO Rohan Lund, in a memo to staff, paid tribute to Mackay-Cruise.
"Heith will finish on 30 June and will be succeeded by Teresa Dyson who is an existing member of the Board and will assume the position of Chair elect," Lund said
"Heith leaves with our gratitude for his stewardship of SCA for the last six years and for his work bringing these two great companies together."
Chair-elect Teresa Dyson said the board wishes to gratefully acknowledge Mackay-Cruise's significant contribution as a director over the past six years, and particularly in recent years as chairman, in building SCA’s nation-wide reach and accelerating the integration of television, audio, digital and publishing assets.
“I am looking forward to working closely with Heith, Rohan and my fellow Directors over the upcoming transition period and as we continue to drive our performance, deliver the full value and synergies of our operations and diverse content platforms, and carefully manage succession on the Board," she said.
The share register of Southern Cross has been changing.
Last month Bruce McWilliam, a former Seven executive described as “a doyen of the media industry” and right hand man to billionaire Kerry Stokes, took a significant stake in his old company.
Filings to the ASX show McWilliam has 5.33% of SCA after going on market to buy up shares in the television and radio media group.
CEO Rohan Lund replaced Jeff Howard who stepped down in February on the eve of the release of the group's December half results, its first combined post-merger results, for both television and audio, with total revenue down 1.5% to $1.008 billion.
Television revenue fell 2.1% to $712 million while audio was up 3.2% to $216.5 million. No dividends were declared, with the company focuses on debt reduction.
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