Sinead Boucher – who bought the digital and print publisher for NZ$1 in 2020 – has announced new leadership for Stuff, making herself publisher and executive chair.

Chief growth officer Laura Maxwell, who joined Stuff from rival NZME. succeeds Boucher as chief executive.

Stuff includes the eponymous online news brand that reaches 2.1 New Zealanders, as well as the 45 print newspapers formerly published by Fairfax New Zealand. It also owns three magazines, an events business and a social network called Neighbourly.

It was acquired by Australia’s Nine Entertainment as part of the former Fairfax Media and sold to former chief Boucher when attempts to merge it with NZME were frustrated by regulators.

At the same time, Stuff is announcing three new online publications and new paywalls for its traditionally ad-funded publications. New websites for Christchurch’s The Press, Wellington’s The Post (previously The Dominion Post), and the Waikato Times in Hamilton, will replace the stuff.co.nz sites for those cities.

The new masthead sites are the first products of a new platform which will also run group advertising, with others planned.

Stuff is also being split into three divisions, each with its own managing director.

Chief audio officer Nadia Tolich is to lead Stuff Digital, which includes stuff.co.nz, Neighbourly and the company’s audio division. Chief content officer Joanna Norris has been named to lead Stuff Masthead Publishing including the metro, regional and community digital sites. Matt Headland, who has been executive commercial director, has been appointed managing director of commercial and sales division Stuff Brand Connections.

Some job losses are being anticipated, but Boucher says while the number of people in each division would change, it was too early to talk about redundancies.

Nine’s Australian Financial Review quoted Boucher that “we were for many years too in thrall to the global tech giants, particularly social media, and believed that we had to play their game.

“As an industry, the media was slow to react, and we are still paying the price for that. We certainly can’t afford to make the same mistakes.”

Pictured (from left): Nadia Tolich, Laura Maxwell, Matt Headland, Sinead Boucher and Joanna Norris.