Mark Thompson, BBC
Mark Thompson was appointed BBC Director-General on 21 May 2004 and soon after set out a vision of the BBC to deliver more value to the public in a new era of broadcasting , and secured a new Charter settlement in 2006 to make that vision a reality. He has transformed the BBC for the digital age, overseeing the development of the hugely successful BBC iPlayer, as well as sharpening its creative focus. He embarked on the BBC’s biggest ever efficiency drive, saving nearly £2bn to invest in distinctive and creative programming, new technology and broadcasting facilities.
In 2008 Mark committed the BBC to supporting the wider media industry through radical and wide-ranging partnerships, offering to share digital technology with other broadcasters, providing syndicated content and training to newspaper groups, and working more closely with major UK cultural institutions.
To better spread the benefits of the BBC to the whole of the UK Mark is leading the biggest ever effort to move production beyond London including a new world-class base for the BBC at MediaCityUK in Salford.
Having joined the BBC in 1979 as a production trainee, Mark helped to launch Watchdog in 1981 and Breakfast Time in 1983, before becoming Output Editor on Newsnight in 1985. He was appointed Editor of the Nine O’Clock News in 1988 and of Panorama in 1990. Mark was Controller of BBC Two from 1996 to 1998, Director of National and Regional Broadcasting from 1999 to 2000 and Director of BBC Television from 2000 until he joined Channel 4 as Chief Executive at the beginning of 2002.