Sir David Jeremy Darroch (born 18 July 1962) is an English businessman who was the CEO of

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

from December 2007 until becoming executive chairman in January 2021.

Early life

He was born and brought up in

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, the son of a tax inspector, and the grandson of a miner. He attended Dukes Grammar School (a boys-only

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

which became Dukes Middle School in 1977) in

. He has a bachelor's degree in Economics from the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

Career

He worked for

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

for twelve years from 1988, eventually becoming European finance director of its healthcare business. He then worked for DSG Dixons Group under the aegis of Ian Livingston, before replacing him in the role of FD.

Sky

He joined Sky (previously known as Sky plc before Comcast's takeover in 2018, and British Sky Broadcasting before the European acquisitions in 2014) in August 2004 as Chief Financial Officer. He became Chief Executive of Sky in December 2007 and sold the organisation to

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

in 2018. In 2017, Darroch was the UK's 4th highest earning CEO, receiving a salary of £16.3 million. In January 2021, it was announced that Darroch would be standing down as CEO, and will become executive chairman of Sky, remaining in post throughout 2021, and will then be an advisor to the company. He will be succeeded as CEO by Dana Strong. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

2023 Birthday Honours The 2023 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of King Charles III to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part ...

for services to business, charity and sustainability.

Later Career

Darroch became a Non-Executive Director for Reckitt plc in November 2022, becoming Chair of the Board in May 2024. Darroch joined the board of

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

as a Director in 2024.

Personal life

In July 2010 he received an honorary degree from the University of Hull. He is on the board of the

Youth Sport Trust The Youth Sport Trust is a British government-funded trust that funds and promotes the provision of youth sport in the UK, partly to have an effect on children's health. History School sport provision had been reduced in the 1980s, due to disputes ...

and the

Council for Industry and Higher Education A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

References

External links

Sky leadership
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darroch, Jeremy 1962 births 21st-century English businesspeople Alumni of the University of Hull British chairpersons of corporations Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Chief executives in the mass media industry Comcast people English chief executives English manufacturing businesspeople English television executives Knights Bachelor Living people News Corporation people People from Alnwick People from Northumberland (before 1974) Procter & Gamble people Reckitt people Sky Group