John Smith (BBC)
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John Smith (born August 1957) was the
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
from 2004 until 2012 and was a board member of Burberry Group plc and Chief Operating Officer. He is now Chairman of several businesses and a Director of both listed and private equity owned companies. Smith attended the Shelton Lock school (which became
Merrill College Merrill College is a residential college at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The theme of the college, and the name of its freshman core course, is "cultural identities and global consciousness." Location Merrill is located at the far ...
) in
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
. He later went to the
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
. He completed the management development programme at the BRB Group before joining the BBC where he became CFO then COO. From there he became CEO of BBC Worldwide.


At the BBC

Smith joined the BBC in 1989, becoming the BBC's Finance Director (CFO) in 1996. In April 2000, he became Director of Finance, Property & Business Affairs, adding Property, Procurement and Programme Rights to his portfolio. He oversaw the redevelopment of significant properties for the BBC, including Broadcasting House in Central London and the Media Village in W12. He also chaired the BBC Pension Fund Investment Committee. In June 2004, he became the BBC's Chief Operating Officer. He undertook the Commercial Review of all the BBC's commercial activities and was responsible in 2004 for the sale of BBC Technology to Siemens Business Services, and in 2005, he led the sale of BBC Broadcast to Creative Broadcast Services Limited, a Macquarie Company. This company became
Red Bee Media Red Bee Media Ltd., formerly Ericsson Broadcast and Media Services (EBMS), is an international broadcasting and media services company and the largest access provider in Europe. Red Bee has its headquarters in London, England, with branch offi ...
. He was Chairman of BBC Studios, and Post Production. In July 2004, John Smith took the helm at
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
becoming
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
. After taking over as CEO, Smith doubled
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
's turnover and quadrupled its profits. He geographically diversified the business so that it had a more international focus. Under Smith BBC Worldwide was the largest TV distributor outside of US companies and became Europe's largest TV channel operator with over 360m subscribers to its BBC-branded portfolio of channels. Under Smith, BBC Worldwide created new relationships with UK independent TV producers and set up an international production business producing TV format hits such as
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
and Top Gear. In 2007, BBC Worldwide launched the commercial international website - bbc.com - which came into profit one year ahead of schedule and now has three international edition attracting 60 million unique users. The business has developed apps around its brands which have resulted in 25 million downloads and has attracted 23 million fans to its social media sites. Smith also launched the BBC's commercial Global iPlayer in many countries around the world, as well and the opening of the
Doctor Who Experience Since the first broadcast of the British science-fiction television serial ''Doctor Who'' in 1963, there have been a number of exhibitions of Theatrical property, props, costumes and Theatrical scenery, sets relating to the show throughout the ...
, an interactive visitor attraction in London and live events ranging from Teletubbies to Strictly Come Dancing. In 2009, BBC Worldwide's achievements were recognised with a Queen's Award for Exports. Smith has been a Director of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), the Henley Festival, the advisory board of the English National Opera (ENO) and vice-president of the
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
. He was also non-executive director at Burberry and a Fellow of both the
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (CCA). Founded in 1904, It is now the fourth-largest professional accounting body ...
and the
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
(RSA). Other directorships have included
Severn Trent Severn Trent plc is a water company based in Coventry, England. It supplies 4.6 million households and business across the Midlands and Wales. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the ...
PLC, Vickers PLC, Travelport International, Hilding Anders AB, and Superdry PLC. Smith won the Accountancy Age Financial Director of the Year Award in 2001. He was a member of the Accounting Standards Board for three years between 2001 and November 2004, the HM Treasury Public Services Productivity Panel, and a non-executive director of
Severn Trent Severn Trent plc is a water company based in Coventry, England. It supplies 4.6 million households and business across the Midlands and Wales. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the ...
plc and Vickers PLC. John was a Council Member between 1996 and 1999. In 2004, he received an honorary Fellowship from the
Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...
Receives Honorary Fellowship from RIBA in May 2004
/ref> (in the same year as
John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (31 May 1938 – 20 November 2024) was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the ...
). He is currently Chairman of Spin Group Ltd, Jungle Creations Ltd, Seeker Music Publishing.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John 1957 births Living people Harvard Business School alumni Businesspeople from Derby British chief executives