Vinyl Group has moved to strengthen its executive leadership team, appointing a new Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer while transitioning its current finance chief into an integration role, following the completion of its Val Morgan Digital acquisition.
The ASX-listed media and music technology company confirmed the appointments are effective immediately, positioning the business for its next phase of growth and operational scale.
New COO appointed to drive operational scale
Jonathon Oake has been appointed Chief Operating Officer, bringing more than 20 years’ experience across media, telecommunications and technology.
He joins from ByteDance, where he served as global head of publisher operations and solutions (B2B), overseeing go-to-market strategy, partner operations and monetisation initiatives across more than 50 markets.
Prior to that, Oake held senior roles at Optus and Foxtel, including director of strategy, partnerships and revenue at Optus, where he led end-to-end operational delivery across its content business unit.
In the COO role, Oake will be responsible for group-wide operational execution, performance frameworks, systems and process optimisation, and translating board strategy into commercial outcomes across the expanded Vinyl Group portfolio.
Jonathon Oake
CFO transition supports integration focus
Jorge Nigaglioni, the company’s current Chief Financial Officer, will transition into the newly created role of Chief Integration Officer.
Nigaglioni has overseen capital management, financial governance and integration planning during a period of rapid growth and acquisition activity.
In his new role, he will lead post-acquisition integration across the group, focusing on operational alignment, systems consolidation and delivery of synergies across newly acquired businesses.
New CFO appointment from within
Vinyl Group has appointed Michael Globan as Chief Financial Officer, promoting him from his current role as Financial Controller.
A chartered accountant with more than a decade of experience, Globan previously served as finance director at Warner Music Group in London, overseeing finance operations outside the United States across retail, licensing, touring and direct-to-fan businesses.
He has also held senior finance roles at Dentsu and Ernst & Young, with experience spanning global reporting, audit oversight, deal appraisal and finance transformation.
As CFO, Globan will take responsibility for group financial management, reporting, compliance, capital management and governance.
The leadership changes come after Vinyl Group completed its $10.5 million acquisition of Val Morgan Digital, for which it paid $7 million in cash and $3.5 million in shares.
The company said the deal with the HOYTS Group entity significantly expands its digital audience scale, bringing it into closer competition with players such as Nine and News Corp Australia.
Val Morgan Digital generated $10.7 million in revenue in 2025, representing a 73% uplift in Vinyl Media revenue. The combined entity is expected to contribute $2.5 million in annualised EBITDA.
The acquisition also adds ANZ licences for BuzzFeed, Fandom, LADbible Group and Vox Media to Vinyl’s portfolio, further strengthening its publishing footprint.
Combined with Vinyl Media’s existing assets, including Concrete Playground, Tone Deaf and licences for Rolling Stone, Variety and POPSUGAR, the group’s online audience reach is expected to hit 47% of Australians in the entertainment category and 51% in news.
As part of the deal, HOYTS Group CEO Damian Keogh has been appointed to the Vinyl Group board as a non-executive director, while Linda Jenkinson has stepped down effective immediately.
Vinyl Group has also entered into a cooperation agreement with Val Morgan, enabling cross-sell opportunities across outdoor and cinema advertising.
The acquisition was funded via a $10 million loan facility from non-executive chairman Robert Kenneth Gaunt, priced at RBA plus 5% per annum over five years.
Josh Simons
CEO flags ‘step change’ in scale
Vinyl Group CEO and Executive Director Josh Simons said the appointments reflect the company’s evolving scale following its latest acquisition.
“The completion of the Val Morgan Digital acquisition represents a significant step change in scale for Vinyl Group. These appointments ensure we have the operational, integration and financial leadership capability required to execute at that scale.”
Mediaweek is owned by Vinyl Group.