Fairfax appoints Domain CEO

Fairfax Media, has appointed Antony Catalano chief executive of its high-value classifieds real estate business Domain.

The appointment has prompted speculation Fairfax will end up floating Domain as a separate company after CEO Greg Hywood's decision last March to restructure the business as a stand-alone entity within Fairfax.

Mr Catalano, a former reporter and editor with The Age, was most recently part-owner and chief executive of Metro Media Publishing, the publisher of a glossy free start-up Weekly Review magazine.

MMP snatched a significant chunk of real estate advertising from Fairfax's suburban titles before both groups orchestrated a merger in July 2012.

Mr Catalano, MMP's largest individual shareholder, told BusinessDay he would stay on as a board member of MMP but would step back from day-to-day operations.

MMP co-founder Trent Casson will be chief operating officer of MMP, which has overall responsibility for real estate advertising sales for Domain and the Domain liftout in other key titles including the Friday edition of The Australian Financial Review and The Saturday Age.