Mia Freedman’s son Luca Lavigne appointed CEO of Mamamia
Mamamia, the country’s largest women-focused media company, has appointed founder Mia Freedman’s son as the company’s next CEO.
Luca Lavigne, 28, will take over as chief executive in September following the departure of Nat Harvey, who has been appointed chief revenue officer of Southern Cross Media, which owns the Seven Network, Triple M and Hit radio networks, among other assets.
“On behalf of the entire company, I wholeheartedly thank Nat for her extraordinary leadership during a time of great opportunity and significant change for the industry,” Lavigne said in a statement Monday.
“His leadership is defined by expertise, passion and commitment. This business is better today because of him, and Nat will always have our friendship and gratitude for everything he did during his time at Mamamia.”
Lavigne is the son of Freedman and her husband and Mamamia co-founder Jason Lavigne. His appointment will be the latest in a meteoric rise at Mamamia, where he spent the last two years as COO. He has worked at Mamamia for the past 10 years, first as a content producer in 2015.
The appointment comes just a year after reports that his “handsome” six-figure salary triggered internal backlash at the company, prompting Lavigne’s wife, Jessie Stephens, to publicly deny the figure reported in the press. Stephens has served as managing editor at Mamamia for the past four years.
Mamamia, through a spokesperson, declined to comment on the value of Lavigne’s CEO compensation package, but said the company has other female employees who stand to earn more than her.
The company also refused to confirm whether it would receive the same remuneration package as Harvey, who has nearly two decades of experience in the media, including at Seven, where he served as national sales director before taking up the senior role at Mamamia.
“Mamamia is one of the few workplaces in Australia where the gender pay gap has reversed, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) annual pay gap figures. Luca Lavigne’s pay package reflects this,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“As CEO, when he officially takes over in September, his salary will still be below that of several female Mamamia employees.”
Mamamia was co-founded by Freedman and Jason Lavigne in 2007. Mamamia reaches approximately eight million people a month through its website, podcasts and events. Australian Financial Review In January.
Jason Lavigne served as the company’s chief executive until Harvey’s appointment in 2024 and currently serves as executive chairman. Meanwhile, Freedman announced in January last year that he would be stepping back from his podcast. No Filter10 years later.
“There are two main reasons for my decision. One is burnout, but it’s not what you think. Doing the same thing over and over again is a form of creative burnout that I struggle with periodically,” Freedman wrote in a Substack post explaining his decision.
“The other reason for my decision is math. It’s simple really. It’s a lot to host Mamamia Outloud (a daily show that’s now Australia’s 3rd biggest podcast), to write this newsletter, to go from being just me to co-founding a company that reaches over 150 people, plus three kids, two dogs and a grandchild.”
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John Buckley is the CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
