Tim Armstrong has announced his departure from Nova Entertainment, closing a five-year chapter during which he played a pivotal role in transforming the radio broadcaster's digital business into a future-facing audio platform.

Armstrong, who joined Nova in May 2020 amid the upheaval of the early pandemic, helped steer the company through a period of significant change. Brought in by Fayad Tohme, then leading Nova's digital transformation efforts, Armstrong was tasked with developing a unified digital ecosystem to complement and eventually merge with the traditional broadcast model - a vision he described as "green field in many ways."

During his tenure as Director, Digital Product, Technology, and Data, Armstrong delivered a string of high-impact initiatives, positioning Nova as a competitive player in the rapidly evolving digital audio landscape.

On Linkedin he wrote "What excited me most was the growth opportunity and potential - the chance to help build a digital ecosystem with new capabilities that would eventually merge with the broadcast business to become 'all of audio,'" he said.

Key achievements during Armstrong's time at Nova include:

• Significant growth of digital audio revenue, which exceeded compound annual growth rate (CAGR) expectations.
• In-housing all digital audio functions, supported by a new operating model.
• Rebuilding the customer data ecosystem, expanding its utility beyond marketing.
• Re-platforming all digital services to improve infrastructure flexibility, including launches on connected TVs and smart devices.
• Launching a market-leading digital audio commercial product suite.
• Establishing a company-wide data lake, with tailored access across business functions.
• Representing Nova at the industry level, advocating for radio consumption in Australia.
• Developing a first-of-its-kind global platform, details of which will be announced soon.

Armstrong credited much of the success to his team, describing them as "diverse, curious, smart-thinking individuals."

Reflecting on his decision to step away, Armstrong said the move was carefully considered and comes as he prepares for a "next chapter," the details of which he indicated will be revealed shortly.

"It's been one heck of a ride, that's for sure - ups and downs - but I walk away with many things I didn't have before joining," he wrote.

"I'm officially open for business."

Armstrong leaves behind a significantly modernised digital capability at Nova and a legacy of innovation that contributed to both revenue and audience growth in a competitive and shifting media environment.