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Post-Bernard GCap needs to be bold

Posted in Media, Oliver Milman, Latest reporters' blogs November 23rd, 2007 by Oliver Milman

Following the departure of Ralph Bernard, GCap Media is not just looking for a new chief executive – the commercial radio industry is in dire need of a new cheerleader.

When most people think of radio, the rather disturbing image of Chris Moyles comes to mind. Think a bit harder and the BBC’s dominance is evident – Jonathan Ross, Terry Wogan; even the Archers for goodness sake.

All of this is not good news for ad-carrying stations, as Bernard, as head of the UK’s biggest commercial group, is painfully aware of. After 25 years at the top, the poor man is probably worn out and will happily watch the next generation of radio bosses take up the fight.

First of all, GCap needs to be sorted out. Formed via a botched merger two years ago, the group – which owns Capital, Classic FM and Xfm – has seen listener numbers and revenues fall alarmingly.

While rivals have gleefully overtaken Capital in London, the bigger picture is that the industry needs a strong market leading company. Bernard has taken a hammering from the City over the decision to axe half the advertising on Capital, and his successor will have the pleasure of dealing with growing grumbling among shareholders.

So who will take over? Over the past year, Bernard started to horde top radio executives like an obsessive stamp collector. Fru Hazlitt and Paul Jackson arrived from Virgin Radio, as did Richard Ayre from ITV.

This should lead to an internal scramble for the chief executive’s chair, with an outside appointment looking unlikely. Despite often having the tact of a double decker bus, the sparky and energetic Hazlitt is the favourite, and would bring plenty of sparkle to the job.

While others may cringe at the prospect of her dealing with sensitive plc matters, Hazlitt will generate headlines for the commercial radio industry, something sorely lacking in recent years.

She also has digital experience via her time at Yahoo! and has been attempting to make GCap more online-friendly.

Following the Bernard years, an injection of vitality and new ideas is needed. Hazlitt could well be the woman for the job.

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