Worner

"In one of Stokes’s long-range chess moves, he put former Woodside Petroleum chief Don Voelte in the media-group chair — where he took a chainsaw to costs — ready for Worner to take over the big job in 2013. Although Stokes sees Voelte as a tough all-round manager, his ultimate value lies in his knowledge of the energy business, which explains why the American became head of Stokes’s Seven Group Holdings with a brief to examine gas extraction."

"Whereas Packer’s Nine was a dictatorship that ran on fear of failure, Stokes has created a culture where there’s no such fear. ‘That comes from the chairman’s office all the way down,’ says Worner. ‘It’s not okay to fail repeatedly but it’s definitely okay to fail. When something tanks in the ratings he calls and you see his extension number come up and you think, “Oh, my God”, but he says, “That’s okay. Learn from it. Look for the next thing.” ‘Having no fear of failure in a creative organisation is very important. He understands that better than anyone.’ The surfer who loves football metaphors suddenly switches sports: ‘You’ve got to keep swinging for the fences, got to keep having a go.’"

"Stokes spends most of his time in Sydney and most working days in the same Pyrmont offices as Worner: a converted dockside warehouse that’s all polished timber floors and exposed brick and beams. Those working there see Stokes in the lift, and he’ll quiz them about how their part of the business is going. ‘He’s more likely to say g’day to someone in the lift than they are to him,’ says Worner. The way he ‘gets’ the engineering side of the business always delights the technical staff — and terrifies Worner, who knows little about what makes digital broadcasting equipment actually work."