17th Jan 2006 07:01
ITV PLC17 January 2006 ITV plc announces Finance Director and new Strategy Director ITV plc announces the appointment of John Cresswell as a Director of the Companyon 16 January 2006. Henry Staunton, current Finance Director of ITV, will bestepping down from the Board after a short handover period and John Cresswellwill become Finance Director at that time. In addition, ITV has appointed Ben McOwen Wilson to the newly-created positionof Strategy Director, reporting to Charles Allen, Chief Executive Officer of ITVplc. Ben McOwen Wilson will join ITV in March from Spectrum StrategyConsultants, where he is a Partner. John Cresswell is a Chartered Accountant and is currently the Chief OperatingOfficer of ITV plc. John has worked in the media industry for almost 20 years,starting at TVS and then United Business Media before joining Granada. Sir Peter Burt, Chairman of ITV plc, said on John Cresswell's appointment: "We carried out an extensive search for this role and I and the othernon-executive directors were extremely impressed by the very high standard ofboth the external and internal candidates. John's management qualities and hisexperience in both financial and operational roles within the media businesssingled him out as the preferred candidate. We are very pleased to have securedas Finance Director an individual who is so well qualified and respected withinboth ITV and the industry." "I would like to thank Henry Staunton for his contribution as Finance Directorduring the last 13 years over which time his knowledge, skills and experiencehave been invaluable to the Company." Charles Allen, Chief Executive Officer of ITV plc, said of these appointments: "I'm extremely pleased to be appointing two executives of such high calibre toITV's top team. Since John joined the Company he has been one of the principalcontributors to the effective merger of ITV and has a great deal of experiencein both financial and operating areas of the media industry. That operationalexperience and his energy and drive will be a great asset to us and I lookforward to working with him in the future. "Ben has an outstanding reputation for his work in the TMT sector. He brings toITV extensive experience both in the UK and internationally which will proveinvaluable as ITV continues to grow its businesses at home and abroad. "I'd also like to add my thanks to Henry Staunton with whom I have workedclosely as a board colleague for many years and who played an integral role inthe creation of ITV plc." John Cresswell said: "I am delighted to have been asked to take on the finance role for ITV and I amlooking forward to working with the Board and senior team to develop ourbusinesses and improve our operational efficiency." Ben McOwen Wilson said: "I am thrilled to be joining ITV in the new role of Director of Strategy and Iam very excited about the opportunities available to us as the UK's largestcommercial broadcaster. I am looking forward to working with the seniormanagement team to help further develop ITV's commercial strategy and grow thebusiness." Enquiries: ITV plc 020 7620 1620 Analysts: James Tibbitts Georgina Blackburn Media: Brigitte Trafford (0207 737 8719) Jim Godfrey (0207 261 8148) Citigate Dewe Rogerson Simon Rigby 020 7638 9571 Notes to Editors: John Cresswell John Cresswell is a Chartered Accountant and has worked in the televisionindustry for nearly 20 years. He is 44 and is married with three children. 2005 - Present Chief Operating Officer of ITV plc 2000 - 2005 Granada/ITV plc2004 - 2005 Chief Operating Officer, Granada (at formation of ITV plc)2001 - 2004 Chief Operating Officer and FD, Granada Content2000 - 2001 Director of Operations, Granada Content 1992 - 2000 United Broadcasting and Entertainment Ltd1998 - 2000 Chief Operating Officer1996 - 1998 Finance Director1993 - 1995 Finance Director, Meridian Broadcasting 1987 - 1992 TVS Television Attained role of Financial Controller having joined as Group FinancialAccountant. Ben McOwen Wilson Ben McOwen Wilson has more than 10 years experience in strategic consultancy inthe TMT sector. He is 34 and is married with one daughter. 1999 - present Spectrum Strategy consultants Spectrum is a strategy consulting firm serving the TMT (technology, media andtelecoms) sector worldwide with offices in eight countries. 2004 - present Partner2000 - 2004 Manager1999 Senior Associate 1997 - 1999 Renaissance Worldwide (now Adventis) Senior Manager - New Media and Internet Strategy Group 1994 -1997 Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) Consultant - change management and strategy practice In the last five years, McOwen Wilson has undertaken a very extensive range ofassignments for broadcasters, platform operators, rights owners, productioncompanies, regulators, investors and technology manufacturers. He has ledprojects in Africa, Asia, South America and Australasia in addition to mainlandEurope. In the UK he has worked with each of the terrestrial broadcasters, awide range of digital channels and all of the UK's major pay-TV platformoperators. 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