I was sorry to hear that David Kirk has stood down as CEO of Fairfax in Australia.

It would seem he jumped before he was pushed, but who knows.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to correct people about how Fairfax, and David specifically, handled the acquisition of Trade Me.  The starting assumption seems to be that shortly following the purchase we would have been inundated by suits.  But, at least in the 18 months that I worked there following the sale, that didn’t happen. 

They took an active interest, for sure, but seemed happy to let us get on with the job.  I think he deserves a lot of the credit for that.

No doubt there will be some exciting opportunities ahead for him.

Likewise, it will be interesting to watch and see how Fairfax and Trade Me fare as a result of this change.