Nine has announced that Mike Sneesby, the current head of streaming service Stan, will be its new CEO.

Sneesby, who has led Stan since it was originally launched as a joint venture between Nine and Fairfax Media, beat out other candidates including Chris Janz, the company’s current head of publishing, and former Endemol Shine boss Carl Fennessy.

Prior to leading Stan, Sneesby was CEO of ecommerce plaform Cudo, vice-president of IPTV in Dubai, and lead teams at Ninemsn and Optus.

Sneesby replaces outgoing CEO Hugh Marks, who resigned in November last year after revealing he was in a relationship with a former colleague.

“I am honoured to be entrusted with this important role, to be the custodian for many of Australia’s most important, valuable and iconic media brands,” Sneesby said in a statement.

“I have worked alongside my colleagues at Nine for many years and I look forwarding to building our future together as we embrace the opportunities presented in the emerging and growing digital future. The Nine family is made up of journalists, technicians, producers and so many dedicated to their craft, it will be the honour of a lifetime to lead them.”

It is currently unknown who will replace Sneesby at Stan.

“Mike is a strong business leader who has built Stan into the leading locally-based subscription video on demand service in Australia,” said Nine chairman Peter Costello in a statement.

“He has a rich pedigree in digital, spanning back to his time as Strategy Director of Ninemsn and has been at the forefront of the growth of IPTV, both here and overseas.”

Under Sneesby’s leadership, Stan has developed into a strong number two competitor behind the Netflix juggernaut. At Nine’s fiscal half year results last Wednesday, Stan reported a 28% increase in revenue to $149.1 million, and more than two million subscribers. The platform is poised to launch a sport offering, Stan Sport, having secured rugby and tennis rights.

Nine is the owner of Pedestrian Group, the publisher of Business Insider Australia.

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