After three years leading Australian Associated Press through a period of transformation and recovery, CEO Lisa Davies will step down in June.
The former Sydney Morning Herald editor, who began her journalism career at AAP more than two decades ago, has played a central role in securing the national newswire’s future following an existential funding crisis.
In a note to staff, AAP chair Gail Hambly confirmed Davies’ last day will be Friday, 6 June.
General counsel Emma Cowdroy will return as interim CEO while the organisation conducts a search for a permanent successor.
A career full circle
Davies’ connection to AAP is deeply personal. She began at the wire service in 2000, first as an editorial assistant in Brisbane and then as a cadet reporter in Sydney.
Her career path took her to The Daily Telegraph as chief court reporter, and later to The Sydney Morning Herald, where she rose through the editorial ranks to become editor in 2017.
In 2022, she returned to AAP as CEO during a critical moment in the organisation’s history.
Two years earlier, shareholders News Corp and Nine Entertainment Co had withdrawn support, placing the newswire at risk of closure. It was ultimately saved by a consortium of philanthropists and investors and relaunched as a not-for-profit.
Under Davies’ leadership, AAP secured $33 million in federal funding, $11 million annually for three years, bolstering its role as an independent provider of fact-based journalism.
She also oversaw the revival of AAP’s cadet program and helped bring Nine Publishing back on board as a commercial customer.
In her farewell note, Davies said it had been “an honour and a privilege” to lead the organisation where she first learned the principles of impartial journalism, adding she would “always be an advocate” for AAP and its public interest mission.
Leadership continuity and next steps
Cowdroy, who previously served as AAP CEO when the company relaunched in 2020, will take reins on an interim basis.
Cowdroy, a long-time executive and former solicitor with Gilbert + Tobin and Sparke Helmore, has been with AAP for more than two decades. She described her return to the leadership role as “a privilege”.
While Davies declined to comment further, industry observers note that her exit comes at a time of renewed confidence in the wire service’s financial and editorial direction.
AAP’s next chapter will require balancing its public interest charter with commercial resilience, an ongoing challenge in a fragmented media economy increasingly reliant on trusted content partnerships.