ABC CIO Ken Gallacher departs broadcaster after seven years

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s long-serving CIO Ken Gallacher is leaving the organisation after more than seven years in the role.

Gallacher’s future with the broadcaster had been uncertain following the appointment in May of Helen Clifton to a newly formed role of chief digital and information officer.

“I remain as excited about the ABC as I was seven years ago when I joined,” Gallacher wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the move last night.

“The organisation’s passion and skill is second to none in the media industry. The journey to transform ABC’s technology environment and restructure the technology team has been amazing and the time feels right to hand the technology reigns over to others and peruse my next CIO / CDO role,” he wrote.

Gallacher added that he will be taking on consultancy work for a short period while he seeks his next position.

Born in Canada, Gallacher has been a resident of Australia since the mid 1980s. He previously served as CIO for Westfield in ANZ, before a stint at PriceWaterhouse Coopers. He joined the ABC in 2009 to establish an organisation-wide ICT strategy and lead a 350-strong technology function.

Gallacher had a transformational roleat the broadcaster which included a new intranet and CMS overhaul, the launch of the MediaHub content broadcast system, as well as a restructure of the technology support model.

Gallacher’s successor Clifton was plucked from TVNZ in Auckland where she served as chief product and information officer.

“Like all media organisations, the ABC is undergoing a great period of transformation and is faced with a fast moving technological environment it must stay ahead of so it can remain an innovative and unique source of content,” ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie said of Clifton’s appointment.