JOHN Fairfax Holdings confirmed this week 10 years ago that Bob Mansfield would resign as chief executive but would remain for three months until a replacement could be found. Fairfax will now begin to search for a replacement, with West Australian Newspapers managing director Dennis Thompson suggested as a candidate by stock broking analysts. It is understood the Fairfax board intends to choose the next chief executive very carefully due to the embarrassment surrounding the recruitment and termination of Mr Mansfield in such a short time. The board may consider possible candidates with strong newspaper experience from the UK and the US.
