Interim CEO in Place at BBC Worldwide

LONDON: Paul Dempsey has been tapped to fill the CEO role at BBC Worldwide on an interim basis, until Tim Davie takes over next year when he passes on the BBC director-general post to Tony Hall.

Dempsey is currently the managing director for consumer products at BBC Worldwide. He will oversee the commercial arm starting December 1. He will serve in the post on an acting basis until Davie has handed over the acting director-general duties to Hall in March. Davie had been poised to take over the role in December, but took over as the acting director-general of the BBC following the departure of George Entwistle. The BBC Trust has since appointed Hall, currently the chief executive of the Royal Opera House, for the director-general post.

Dempsey said: “I am proud and privileged to have been asked by Tim to take on these responsibilities as an interim measure until he arrives early next year. BBC Worldwide is a dynamic company with exciting times ahead of it. My immediate priority will be to provide the company with leadership and direction so it can keep on delivering great returns to the BBC.”

Davie added: “Paul has a great track record at BBC Worldwide and a sound understanding of the commercial imperatives that have made it an international success. I have every faith that he is the right person to lead BBC Worldwide over the coming months and make sure it carries on supporting the BBC brand around the world.”

Of Hall’s appointment at the BBC, BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said: "While there are still very serious questions to be answered by the on-going inquiries, it is in the interests of license-fee payers that the BBC now starts to refocus on its main purpose—making great programs that audiences love and trust.

"In doing this it will need to take a long, hard look at the way it operates and put in place the changes required to ensure it lives up to the standards that the public expects. Tony Hall is the right person to lead this and I am delighted that he is taking on this role. For its part I want to make sure that the Trust gives Tony Hall whatever help and support he needs to re-build the BBC’s management around him.

"Tony Hall has been an insider and is a currently an outsider. As an ex-BBC man he understands how the Corporation’s culture and behavior make it, at its best, the greatest broadcaster in the world. And from his vantage point outside the BBC, he understands the sometimes justified criticisms of the corporation—that it can be inward looking and on occasions too institutional.

"But perhaps most importantly, given where we now find ourselves, his background in news will prove invaluable as the BBC looks to rebuild both its reputation in this area and the trust of audiences."

Hall commented: "I believe passionately in the BBC and that’s why I have accepted Lord Patten’s invitation to become director general.

"This organization is an incredibly important part of what makes the United Kingdom what it is. And of course it matters not just to people in this country—but to tens of millions around the world too.

"It’s been a difficult few weeks—but together we’ll get through it.

"I’m committed to ensuring our news services are the best in the world. I’m committed to making this a place where creative people, the best and the brightest, want to work. And I know from my first days here as a news trainee, to my time as head of news and current affairs, to my time now at the Royal Opera House, that I can’t do it on my own. Having the right teams working together, sparking off each other, is key.

"And I want to build a world class team to lead a world-class BBC."