New Channel 4 Chief Executive Receives Warm Welcome
Channel 4’s decision to appoint Andy Duncan, former BBC director of marketing, communications and audiences, as its new chief executive has received a warm welcome from broadcasters, agencies and advertisers.
Former BBC director general, Greg Dyke, claimed that Duncan one of his best appointments during his reign at the Corporation. He said: “He was one of the key players behind Freeview and has done a brilliant job with it. He is remarkable at getting people on side and is a great leader of people who builds really strong teams.”
Duncan joins Channel 4 with experience of both broadcasting and advertising environments, having joined global brand owner Unilever in the mid-eighties. Niall Fitzgerald, chairman of the FMCG giant, said: “Andy is highly creative but also driven to get results. He’s good with people, he leads teams well and he has a very open and informal style. Andy’s departure from Unilever was regretted but amicable, because he showed a real passion for entering the world of television.”
Cilla Snowball, CEO of Abbott Mead Vickers/BBDO, has also heaped compliments on the new broadcast boss, praising his people skills and intelligence. She said: “Andy is one of a new breed of chief executives who do very big things in very fresh ways. He’s very inspirational and clever at getting people to be creative and take risks.”
Duncan takes his position at Channel 4 following the departure of Mark Thompson, who left last month to become director general of the BBC. Few had rated Duncan as a frontrunner to take over from Thompson, instead expecting Peter Fincham, boss of Talkback Thames, to take the job after Dawn Airey, managing director of Sky Networks at BSkyB, ruled herself out of the running last week.
News of Duncan’s appointment comes as viewing figures from BARB show Channel 4 enjoying a remarkable start to the year with its audience share rising by 2.8% to 9.77%. The channel has enjoyed a string of hits including Shameless, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and the fifth series of Big Brother (see Channel 4 And Five Benefit From Viewer Migration).
Channel Four: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com
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