Seven boss James Warburton to leave IMMEDIATELY after network’s Bruce Lehrmann controversy AND wrongly naming Westfield Bondi Junction killer

Seven West Media CEO James Warburton is leaving the troubled company more than two months earlier than expected.

“Current managing director and CEO James Warburton will end his post at SWM today… with Jeff Howard starting in the role on April 19,” the company announced to ASX on Thursday.

Mr Howard, the company’s chief financial officer, was announced as Mr Warburton’s successor in December and was due to take up the role on June 30.

SWM chairman Kerry Stokes and Mr Howard both thanked Mr Warburton for his contribution to the company over many years.

The statement to the ASX did not give a reason for Mr Warburton’s earlier-than-expected departure from the company.

Mr Warburton is the second high-profile exit in recent weeks, with Spotlight boss Mark Llewellyn leaving the company last week following a series of serious allegations about the programme.

Mr Lewellyn, the programme’s executive producer, resigned as disturbing allegations, heard by the Federal Court, mounted over how the network secured their interview with Bruce Lehrmann.

Taylor Auerbach, a former senior producer at Spotlight and Lehrmann’s “babysitter,” alleged in documents tendered to the court that the couple took drugs and partied with sex workers, with another $10,000 recovered from Seven.

Taylor Auerbach, a former senior producer at Spotlight and Lehrmann’s “babysitter,” alleged in documents tendered to the court that the couple took drugs and partied with sex workers, with another $10,000 transferred back to Seven.

A secret recording of Mr Llewellyn meeting with show staff spoke of the pressure to do ‘whatever it takes to get the story’.

Seven is also facing legal action after the Sunrise program wrongly named Benjamin Cohen as the Bondi Junction attacker.

Mr Cohen, who was wrongly identified by Seven on Sunday as the knife attacker, has retained two of Australia’s top defamation lawyers: Patrick George of Giles George as his lawyer, and Sue Chrysanthou SC as his barrister.

Seven issued an on-air apology to Mr Cohen on Sunday, read out by reporter Sarah Jane Bell at a cross.

Last week, Nine Media reported that Seven had ordered two separate investigations into claims that a small number of staff at top-rating breakfast show Sunrise had engaged in fraud.

Mr Warburton was CEO at Seven West for four years and had recently driven the company’s acquisition of long-term streaming rights for AFL and cricket TV.

Seven West’s central business is television, but the company also owns The West Australian newspaper and launched a new national news publication called The Nightly in February.

The company’s share price is down more than 22 percent this year, for a market capitalization of about $315 million.

The stock jumped in afternoon trading on Thursday following the announcement of Warburton’s sudden departure.