People-first leadership: interview with Stephen Watson, CFO of The HOYTS Group

Hi Stephen, tell me about your background and how you came to be CFO at HOYTS Group.

I first trained with KPMG in Dublin before coming out to Australia on a one-way ticket back in 1992 – no job, no place to stay. At the time, there was a big appetite for qualified overseas accountants to do contract work, and there was plenty of it going around. I’d never worked in industry before, but I picked up a variety of different roles over the years, from oil and gas exploration to e-commerce and creative services.

The great thing about coming from a Big Four background like KPMG is that nothing ever feels too big or too new. The experience you gain there really stands you in good stead, helping you evolve into roles effectively. Now, after 32 years in Australia, I’m the CFO of HOYTS Group. It’s been an incredible journey and I’ve relished every challenge along the way.

Can you tell me more about HOYTS Group and your current role?

HOYTS Group has two main arms: cinema exhibition and screen advertising. HOYTS operates 60 cinemas across Australia and New Zealand and is arguably the most recognised cinema brands in the region. Val Morgan is a renowned cinema, outdoor, and digital advertising business in those same markets. Val Morgan represents most cinema operators across Australia and New Zealand and has an expansive outdoor media network, with a growing presence in digital advertising, that represents both our own and third-party platforms like LADbible, BuzzFeed, Tasty, and Fandom.. HOYTS and Val Morgan are iconic entertainment brands that have been operating in Australia and New Zealand for over 115 years. As CFO, I oversee HOYTS’ Finance, IT, and Creative Studio teams.

That’s quite a range of departments. Do you find it challenging to oversee so many different areas of the business?

I think it makes the job more enjoyable. Over the years, I’ve worked for a variety of businesses in a variety of roles. I’ve been a CFO, a COO, worked in strategy and in operations. I’ve run TV stations, creative teams, and engineering teams. That broad skill set, combined with the right mindset, really helps you evolve – not just to support a business, but to actively participate in it. It allows you to contribute to decision-making across all aspects of the business, from brand and sales to operations and finance. This diversity, I think, is becoming a key part of the modern CFO’s value.

How would you describe the concept of value, and do think it's changed over the course of your career?

Value means different things to different people – and even to the same person at different times. During COVID, value for us as a business meant survival. It was all about cash flow. While roles like Chief Value Officers have their place, I believe each leader must focus on creating value for the business. During that challenging time, our team had clear priorities. We communicated openly with our internal and external stakeholders, especially during difficult times including COVID related layoffs, while ensuring a key focus on keeping the brand alive and well in the minds of our customers and staying cash-positive. By prioritising effectively and working collaboratively, we not only survived one of the most challenging times for the Group, we came out in a reasonably strong position, which allowed us to recover ahead of industry trends.

Today the focus has shifted. Value now lies in reembracing our entrepreneurial spirit – taking advantage of opportunities as they present themselves, moving quickly and decisively to build the business and the brand.  To build real value in a business, we must ensure that there is clarity and alignment without goals and objectives, and we need to continue to work together, no matter the challenge, to achieve the desired outcome. 

I like that. Can you tell me more about how that works in practice?

I’m a big fan of Jim Collins’ ‘Good to Great’, so for me it’s all about getting the right people in the right seats on the bus. After you’ve done that, the right team will usually determine the best path forward. 

Finding these ‘right people’ takes time though, especially in finance roles where resilience and adaptability are key. But it’s absolutely the priority. If you get it right, everything else falls into place, even with the odd mistake along the way.

It sounds like leadership and building positive relationships is an important part of the value you drive?

Absolutely, it all starts with people. A big part of my role is supporting my team’s development. I encourage my team to embrace challenges and step outside their comfort zones because that’s where real personal growth happens. For example, we regularly rotate roles across the business to keep things dynamic and engaging. This not only keeps people sharp but also broadens their perspectives and skill sets, leading to better outcomes for both the individuals and the organisation. When people feel supported and slightly stretched, they’re more motivated, and that energy drives value across the business.

When it comes to leadership, your behaviour – how you communicate, respond to challenges, and interact with others – creates a standard for the team. I’ve learned from both positive and negative people over my career making me conscious on my impact on others. A supportive and empathetic approach not only strengthens relationships but also helps builds trust, collaboration, and a shared commitment to the end goal.

How do you go about forecasting in an industry where the bulk of your revenue – tickets sales – is often influenced by factors beyond your control? 

It’s not easy. Finance professionals often focus on the past – spending most of their time analysing historical data. That’s useful for identifying trends, but more of our focus must be on influencing the future to help deliver better results. With the technology and data we have, we can package insights in a way that supports better decisions. For example, on the cinema side, we track session performance, movie sales, and competitive data daily. This allows us to make decisions to adjust movie schedules for the coming days, should a movie under or over perform.

While much of our operational focus is on the immediate future – next day, weekend, or quarter – we’re also working to improve our longer-term forecasting. Right now, our accuracy significantly diminishes beyond six months, but even managing outcomes for the next three to six months has a meaningful impact on the business.

And ESG considerations – how is that impacting your business?

ESG is hugely important, particularly for our staff, though it’s becoming more relevant to customers too. As a private company, our reporting obligations are not as onerous as those of listed companies, though we’ve embraced it wholeheartedly. Our biggest focus is on reducing power usage and waste, investing in energy-efficient equipment, and exploring government support for these initiatives. 

We’re also fostering inclusivity across our organisation. Over 25% of our employees don’t speak English as their first language, and our Chief People Officer and her team do an incredible job creating a culture that celebrates diversity within our workforce. On the customer side, we offer sensory screenings, open-caption sessions, and movie sessions for new parents with young children to ensure our cinemas are as inclusive as possible.

What strategies do you have to continue driving value in the future? 

It starts with the basics – delivering accurate, consistent, and quality service. That’s the foundation we build on. From there, we focus on evolving our finance team from being mere supporters to true partners in the business. This means maintaining strong and collaborative relationships with other departments. 

A key part of this evolution is encouraging team members to bring challenges and opportunities to the table with clear analysis, including clearly mapping out the problem, potential solutions, costs, and business impact with offering guidance as and when needed. Whether it’s helping someone build confidence in networking or providing strategies for overcoming challenges, supporting personal growth and career progression is central to how we drive long-term value.

What do you feel is your greatest asset as a CFO? 

I love the concept of a ‘Chief Value Officer’, so I’d like to say my greatest asset is adopting that CVO mindset. It’s about creating value not only in my role but through working well with others. I’ve always had a passion for numbers – accounting, economics, and math were subjects I loved all those years ago in school.  Though I have also realised that the best outcomes come from aligning with like-minded teams and integrating and building effective teams. Passion for the work and the people you work with is important too – you can’t fake it for long. If you truly love what you do and the team you’re part of, you’ll deliver your best work.

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