Gregory Colin Hywood was born on 26 September 1954 and is an Australian journalist, editor and media executive who was CEO of Fairfax Media, one of Australia's largest media organisations, from 2010 to 2018.
10 Facts About Greg Hywood
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Gregory Hywood graduated with an economics degree from Monash University in Victoria in 1975, and was working as an economist for automotive manufacturer Holden when he was hired as a cadet journalist by then-editor of the Melbourne bureau of the Fairfax-owned national business newspaper Australian Financial Review, Trevor Sykes.
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Greg Hywood was then moved within the Fairfax organisation to become publisher and editor-in-chief of The Sydney Morning Herald and Sun Herald, and then publisher and editor-in-chief of The Age.
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In 2003, Greg Hywood left Fairfax for a position as Executive Director Policy and Cabinet in the Victorian Government's Department of the Premier for Steve Bracks, his resignation rumoured to be due to a falling-out with then-CEO Fred Hilmer over Fairfax's internet strategy.
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Greg Hywood was appointed CEO of Tourism Victoria in 2006 and in 2008, he concurrently held the position of Deputy Secretary at the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development.
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In October 2010, Greg Hywood was appointed an Independent non-executive director of Fairfax Media, and following the sudden resignation of CEO Brian McCarthy in December 2010, appointed interim CEO.
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Greg Hywood made headlines in May 2011 when announcing a plan to outsource key aspects of production, including plans to outsource news sub-editing to the agency Pagemasters, part-owned by Fairfax rival News Limited.
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Greg Hywood's proposal sparked stop-work meetings among journalists at both Fairfax and rival publications, as well as open criticism from the American Copy Editor's Society, with some media commentators arguing that the most likely hope for newspaper survival is maintaining excellent quality, something that cannot be contracted or guaranteed through outsourced sub-editing, according to Australian academic Margaret Simons.
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Greg Hywood left Fairfax Media following the merger with the Nine Entertainment Co.
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In October 2020 Greg Hywood was appointed chair of Free TV, a role that had remained vacant since the resignation of Harold Mitchell in 2018.