Sam Chisholm

Samuel Hewlings Chisholm[1] AO (8 October 1939 – 9 July 2018) was a New Zealand-born Australian media executive who was a significant figure in the Australian media. He ran Kerry Packer's Nine Network for a significant period during the 1980s before moving to the UK to work for Packer's rival Rupert Murdoch in rescuing the newly established BSkyB from financial problems after the merger of Sky and British Satellite Broadcasting. In 2005, he returned to Australia as acting chief executive of Packer's Nine Network after having received a double lung transplant.[2]

Early life

Chisholm attended King's College, Auckland.

Awards

On 25 November 2013 he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia.[3] On 19 February 2014 he was awarded the King's College honours tie in Auckland, New Zealand for outstanding achievement in his selected career.[4]

Benefactor

When leading Australian television personality Graham Kennedy became ill in his later years, an anonymous benefactor came forward and donated a substantial sum (reported to be A$150,000) for Kennedy's ongoing support and health care after Kerry Packer, for whom Kennedy had made millions of dollars throughout his career, had declined a plea for financial help. On 27 May 2005, two days after Kennedy's death, his close friend and carer Noeline Brown confirmed that the benefactor was Sam Chisholm.[5]

Death

Chisholm died on 9 July 2018, after a short battle with an illness, with his wife Sue and daughter Caroline by his side.[6]

References
  1. SAM CHISHOLM AND BSKYB: The Sky chief who held the future of TV in his hand – Sam Chisholm took BSkyB from loss-maker to major innovator, Campaign, 27 June 1997
  2. PBL press release, 13 July 2006
  3. Governor-General of Australia. Retrieved 28 January 2014
  4. King's College E-News – 26 February 2014
  5. Kennedy's Final Farewell
  6. Sam Chisholm dead at 78. Retrieved 10 July 2018
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.