Sir Mark Thompson made chief executive of CNN

Congratulations to Honorary Fellow Sir Mark Thompson (1976), formerly BBC director general and chief executive of the New York Times, who has been made the new chief executive of US news network CNN.

Mark graduated with a first in English from Merton College, and began his media career as BBC editor and executive before running Channel 4 between 2002 and 2004. A standout talent, he was director general of the BBC from 2004 to 2012. During this time, he re-shaped the BBC to meet the challenges of the digital age, with the launch of services such as BBC iPlayer and ways to make the corporation more efficient.

In his subsequent posts of as president and CEO at the New York Times from 2012-2020, Mark revived the fortunes of the newspaper by boosting digital subscriptions.

As chairman and CEO of CNN, Sir Mark will be guiding the company's domestic and global news services though the 2024 US presidential election.

David Zaslav, chief executive of parent company Warner Bros Discovery, described Sir Mark as ‘a formidable force for CNN and journalism at this pivotal time’.

He added: ‘Mark is a true innovator who has transformed for the digital age two of the world's most respected news organisations.’

Mark will start in the role on 9 October, and we wish him every success.