Seven West Media (SWM) Limited has confirmed that James Warburton stepped down as CEO on Thursday 18 April, concluding his tenure with the media conglomerate much earlier than planned.

Warburton was originally slated to finish toward the end of the 2024 financial year, after announcing his resignation in December. He will be succeeded by SWM chief financial officer, Jeff Howard, who will now assume the CEO role from Friday 19 April.

The update follows today's meeting of the SWM board, with SWM Chairman, Kerry Stokes AC, and Howard thanking Warburton for his "contribution to the business over many years".

The search for a new SWM Chief Financial Officer is ongoing. In the interim, with Craig Haskins appointed as Acting CFO until a successor is announced.

It comes as SWM faces controversies on multiple fronts, after a former Spotlight producer alleged that the company had reimbursed alleged rapist Bruce Lehrmann for illicit drugs and sex workers in a bid to secure an exclusive interview. Spotlight executive producer, Mark Llewellyn, announced his exit from the program earlier this week. Both Llewellyn and SWM deny the allegations.

SWM has since been in hot water over the false reporting of the name of the perpetrator of the Bondi Junction attack over the weekend. Benjamin Cohen, who was incorrectly identified as the killer by Seven on Sunday, has now engaged lawyers as he moves to take defamation action against the network.