ITN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Group Director of Diversity and Inclusion at ITV
- ITV Representative
Ade is the Group Director of Diversity and Inclusion at ITV. She is the first Diversity Director to be on the Management Board of a FTSE 100 company. She leads ITV's Diversity and Inclusion strategy to deliver its published targets and partners with all Management Board leaders, the Commissioning teams, Social Purpose and Human Resources teams to deliver the ITV Diversity Acceleration Plan.
Prior to joining ITV, she led the Creative Diversity team at Channel 4, spearheading the delivery of their 360 Degree Diversity Charter. Her career started in production as a Producer with credits including Big Breakfast, This Morning and A Question of Sport. Ade is on the Board of BAFTA, chairs their Learning, Inclusion and Talent committee and sits on the Board of Trustees of TimesUp UK and Women in Film and TV.
Andrew joined Informa PLC in September 2014, becoming CEO of its newly-formed Knowledge and Networking Division (KNect365). After graduating from Bristol University in 1986, Andrew has worked at Lever Brothers (Unilever), United Distillers, News International and Associated Newspapers.
Andrew was MD at the London Evening Standard, and in May 2010 also became MD of The Independent, therefore heading up all of Alexander Lebedev's UK newspaper operations. Andrew remains on the Boards of ESL and London Live as a Non-Executive Director, a role he also held at Which? Limited, from 2011 to 2016.
Job Titles:
- Acting Director of Corporate Communications
Beatrice joined ITN in 2018 and during 2019 was given an expanded remit in her role as Finance Director, covering ITN's newsrooms and technology function, in addition to ITN Productions. Beatrice qualified as a chartered accountant at PwC and began her career in the media industry at the BBC, before taking up roles at United International Pictures (Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures) and production company Fremantle. During her tenure at Fremantle she held a variety of senior finance roles including FD of the UK TV production business and Global Operational Finance Director, overseeing financial reporting, business planning and investment appraisal across the international television production, distribution and commercial businesses.
Job Titles:
- Head of Brand Strategy and Engagement
Job Titles:
- DMGT 's Representative
- DMGT Representative
- Senior Media Executive
Charlie Cox is DMGT's representative on the ITN Board. Charlie has been a senior media executive in the UK and internationally for more than 30 years. His current role is as an advisor to DMG. He has more than 25 years of involvement with the DMGT group, as an executive and consultant, in sectors including print, digital publishing and broadcasting. Most recently Charlie was CEO of Metro, and previously led the restructure of the US digital publisher Elite Daily after it was acquired by DMG media.
Starting his career in Australia as a journalist in Sydney, he advanced quickly to become manager of Sydney's leading radio news station - 2GB - in parallel with his role as National News Director of the Fairfax owned Macquarie Radio Network.
Charlie was invited to take over London radio company LBC in 1990. He relaunched its radio stations, returning them to profitability. A major shareholder of LBC was Associated Newspapers, which Charlie joined in 1993 to establish a broadcasting arm of DMGT. The division - DMG Radio - became an international operation with more than 70 radio stations in the UK, Scandinavia, Hungary and Australia, as well as a large portfolio of minority broadcast company holdings.
In 2000 Charlie orchestrated the amalgamation of DMG Radio with the UK's GWR Group, in which DMGT held a significant stake, before joining friend and business associate Sir Charles Dunstone for the IPO of Carphone Warehouse. As head of M&A, Charlie streamlined international operations, as well as completing a series of acquisitions in a range of telco sectors. He continues to represent Dixons Carphone with its investments in digital radio.
In parallel with his commercial career, Charlie has enjoyed a successful history as racing driver with three British class Championships to his name. As well, he spent 17 years as a motorsports presenter and commentator for BBC Television and was the lead presenter in the pilot series of Australian Top Gear. At the same time, he spent several years as a motor sport columnist for the UK's Times newspaper.
Debbie Ramsay is the editor of 5 News, the hour-long news bulletin produced by ITN, which airs weeknights on Channel 5 at 5pm.
Debbie took up the role in September 2023, joining ITN from Channel 4 where she was a Commissioning Editor for News and Current Affairs.
Before Channel 4, Debbie worked at the BBC for 16 years. Most recently as an Executive Editor at BBC News in charge of commissioning original journalism across the UK, and before that as Head of Youth Journalism and in senior editorial roles at Radio 1 and 1Xtra Newsbeat, leading a large team of journalists to provide award-winning news for the BBC's flagship multi-platform youth outlets including BBC iPlayer.
She began her career working on local newspapers in the northwest of England, before moving into local radio there and in Birmingham before going on to work Capital AM and FM in London presenting early bulletins and as a breakfast news editor.
Esme is the Editor of Channel 4 News, produced by ITN for Channel 4. Esme was appointed to the role in January 2022, joining from the BBC where she led Newsnight for three years, delivering a raft of major exclusives and investigations, most notably the Prince Andrew interview which drove headlines around the globe and won multiple industry awards. Prior to being made editor of BBC Newsnight, Esme spent 12 years at Sky where she held a number of senior editorial roles culminating in being made Sky News head of politics, business and specialist journalism. Esme started her career in journalism at Newsnight as a producer in 1999 before moving to Sky News in 2005.
Job Titles:
- Reuters News & Media Limited 's Representative
- Reuters Representative
Geert is Reuters News & Media Limited's representative on the Board. Geert was Editor-in-Chief of Reuters from 2000 to 2006, and Reuters Global Head of Content from 2002 to 2006. He joined Reuters as a correspondent covering European Union affairs in Brussels in 1983. Previously, Geert was a correspondent for AP-Dow Jones.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Content
Jon Roberts is Chief Technology Officer at ITN. He has led ITN's Technology division since 2021, when he was appointed Director of Technology, Production and Innovation, and is responsible for the technical strategy, including broadcast and field operations, media and enterprise systems, technical support, capital project delivery, and AI.
Under his leadership, ITN has undergone a digital transformation, including transitioning to an IP infastructure, implementing a new News Production System, and building new studios for ITV and Channel 4 News. In recent years, the technology team has also delivered major live broadcasts during the 2024 elections in the UK and USA for ITV, Channel 4, and 5, as well as global events like the Queen's death and King's Coronation.
Jon has also developed in-house AI tools for ITN in transcription and HR policy, oversaw the world-first 5G slicing project with Vodafone and regularly collaborates with the wider industry, co-leading the award-winning IBC Accelerator Project of the Year in 2024. Under his leadership, his team won Broadcast's Tech Team of the Year award in 2023.
Jon joined ITN as a trainee in 2000 and went on to hold a number of senior production and technology roles, including Technical Director, Programme Director, Head of Studio Technology and Head of Studio Operations.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial and Operations Officer
Justin joined ITN in 2024 and plays a key strategic role in all cross-company activity. He is a qualified management accountant (ACMA) who has worked in finance and operational roles across a variety of media and technology companies.
Justin joined ITN from YouView where he was Finance Director, where he had full end-to-end responsibility for finance strategy, planning and reporting, and operations. YouView - a joint venture equally owned by BT, TalkTalk, BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 - is a connected TV platform that builds the software that powers television discovery and viewing experiences for BT TV, TalkTalk TV and Sony TV. During this time, Justin worked closely with YouView's Board to design and implement a new funding and operating model for the venture, successfully creating and growing new revenue streams.
Justin began his career working in the publishing and advertising sectors before joining ITV Group, where he spent nine years, performing several finance roles in the Corporate, Online, Technology and Broadcast Operations divisions. He led the end-to-end integration of UTV following its acquisition by ITV, as well as working on the foundation of BritBox, the joint venture streaming service founded by the BBC and ITV. He also spent time working in Corporate Development for ITV Studios, focusing on business valuations, mergers and acquisitions.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and ITV Representative
- ITV 's Company Secretary and Group General Counsel
Kyla is ITV's Company Secretary and Group General Counsel. Before joining ITV, she held senior legal positions in the media, entertainment and strategic outsourcing sectors. Kyla was General Counsel and Company Secretary at easyJet plc and Mitie Group plc, Global General Counsel of EMI Music, and Group Legal Director at ITV plc and Granada Media.
Job Titles:
- Editor of ITV Network News
Laura Wilshaw is the Editor of ITV Network News, overseeing ITV's acclaimed national news programmes, digital output, and ITV News London, as well as ITN-produced current affairs shows, including Tonight, live specials, and documentaries.
Previously, Laura was Deputy Editor at Channel 4 News, where she played a key role in the newsroom's senior leadership, shaping editorial direction, ensuring legal compliance, and providing strategic guidance. During her tenure, she helped lead coverage of major global events, including the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the climate crisis, and the war in the Middle East, contributing to multiple awards, including an International Emmy, a BAFTA, and the Royal Television Society (RTS) News Programme of the Year award.
Before Channel 4 News, Laura held prominent positions at ITV News, including as Senior Programme Editor for the award-winning News at Ten during the Covid pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine, helping to win RTS Programme of the Year for two consecutive years. She had previously been Head of Home News. Her extensive career also includes senior roles at Euronews, Sky News, and Channel 5 News.
Job Titles:
- Director of Corporate Communications
Lisa began her career in journalism at Time Out Amsterdam, going on to work in reporting and editing roles on a range of specialist media titles spanning PR, music, marketing and advertising. After working as a freelance writer for national newspapers and magazines, Lisa joined UK TV industry bible Broadcast magazine where she enjoyed a ten year career in a variety of roles, including editor, a post she held for 7 years. Lisa was then appointed as Festival Director for the Edinburgh Television Festival, boosting the Festival's global profile, attendees and reputation as the biggest and most prestigious media event in the UK. She joined ITN in January 2020 and is responsible for internal and external communications, alongside public affairs.
Rachel was appointed as Chief Executive ITN in September 2022, overseeing one of the largest independent television production companies in the UK and the producer of live network news programming for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
As well as its broadcast news division, ITN is also a market leader in factual programme-making, sports production, advertising production and business-to-business content.
Prior to becoming CEO, Rachel was Editor of ITV News. Previously she was editor of 5 News. Before that she had been editor of ITV News London, as well as holding a number of senior editorial roles in ITV News. As head of home news, Rachel led the team which won a Royal Television Society award. She began her ITN career as a trainee, spending time at 5 News as part of its launch team before taking up a series of roles covering major stories in the UK and abroad for ITV News. Rachel also spent time in Russia as the BBC's senior Moscow producer.
Job Titles:
- Head of Strategic Communications
Zaffrin O'Sullivan Zaffrin leads ITN's legal department and has responsibility for all legal matters across the business, including contracts, property and regulatory law. She is a highly experienced media and entertainment lawyer, and has worked with many leading producers, broadcasters, distributors and platforms. She led the TV & Entertainment legal team at Virgin Media O2, one of the UK's largest and most innovative telecoms and media providers and before that, held a number of senior legal roles at media organisations including BBC Studios, UKTV and Endemol, among others.