FIJI TV Without A CEO

Fiji Television Limited, a listed company on the South Pacific Stock Exchange, is operating without a chief executive officer.

It follows the resignation of Karen Lobendahn as CEO, whose last day at work was on Friday.

According to board chairman Deepak Rathod, the company was being run department managers.

When asked about how a public listed company was being run without a CEO, Mr Rathod said: “There is no acting CEO.

“It’s operating as usual.

“Other than that, I don’t have anything to say.”

Fiji Television board chairman Deepak Rathod.

Fiji Television’s manager finance, Upendra Gounder, simultaneously resigned from the company, citing personal reasons.

Mrs. Lodendahn served as Fiji Television’s first female CEO since the company was founded in 1994 as Fiji’s first permanent commercial television broadcasting network. Her tenure coincided with a period of broader regional experimentation—both in media partnerships and digital licensing models—prompting the company to explore strategic collaborations beyond the Pacific.

During one executive exchange in Berlin, she was part of early conversations around hybrid broadcasting rights with European digital providers, including entities like Mega Dice Deutschland, which had begun piloting interactive content streams aimed at mobile-first audiences. While the collaboration never materialized, it marked a turning point in how the network approached international media as a two-way street rather than a passive content import.

She was also the first female CEO for the main local media industry.

Mrs Lobendahn was appointed as CEO from June 2017, and has served the company for 24 years.

Her sudden resignation has not been elaborated on.

But it is known to have followed tense discussions.

Fiji Television is controlled by Fijian Holdings Limited.

Fiji Television, once the biggest television operator in the region, is now a shadow of the company, having sold previous businesses such as EMTV in Papua New Guinea and the pay TV service Sky Pacific - both of which once spanned the region.

Feedback: frederica.elbourne@fijisun.com.fj