Long-time Nova producer Zach La Cava has announced his departure from NOVA Entertainment, closing the chapter on 14 years with the network and more than a decade leading Smallzy’s Surgery.
His exit comes just a week after host Kent “Smallzy” Small signed off from the national evening show after two decades on air.
Closing the studio door
La Cava shared the news in a LinkedIn post, reflecting on his time as executive producer.
“After 14 rewarding years at NOVA Entertainment & following the final Smallzy’s Surgery show last Friday night, I have decided to call time on my journey at Nova,” he wrote.
“Closing the Surgery studio door behind me for the last time last week was emotional & truly felt like the end of an era & right time.”
He described his tenure as “a joy every step of the way,” highlighting the variety of moments created for listeners: “From surprising listeners with access to their favourite celebrities, helping tell the stories of new artists & their music, making people’s dreams come true (often with a ‘money can’t buy’ experience or sending them around the globe (& getting to do a fair bit of travel myself)) to simply putting a smile on a stranger’s face over the phone every night, working on this show has been a joy every step of the way & is too hard to summarise in 1 LinkedIn post!”
Smallzy was one of the first people to comment on La Cava’s post, writing: “What an absolutely incredible achievement. Let me say without you the show would never have done what it did. I’m a better person for having you in my personal and professional life.”
Awards and achievements
La Cava also acknowledged the program’s success across more than a decade of nightly broadcasts.
“For a boy who grew up listening to FM Nights radio religiously & loving top 40 music… winning Best Producer at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards & being #1 for 92 ratings results consistently, undefeated, back to back, year after year has been surreal. Kent Small that’s one for the radio history books if I don’t say so myself! Congratulations, you are a certified star on & off the air.”
The show, which has been a fixture of Nova’s national programming since 2013, built a reputation for securing high-profile interviews and supporting new music talent. It wrapped its final broadcast last week, with Small announcing he would depart Nova after 20 years to pursue new opportunities.
Looking ahead
Reflecting on his personal journey, La Cava noted how far he had come since joining the network as a teenager. “I could not be more proud of how far the 19 year old who first walked through those same Nova studio doors has come,” he said.
He closed his post by raising a glass to the future: “Cheers to a big, bold & bright next chapter ahead.”