Adam Crozier Heads Up ITV

Royal Mail boss Adam Crozier has been appointed as ITV's new chief executive.

Crozier, the former head of the Football Association, will take over the role from Michael Grade who early last year announced that he had made a decision to relinquish the role.

Mr Crozier said ITV was "a company with great heritage and one of the best brands in the UK". The entire media sector is going through enormous change and that presents both great opportunities and significant challenges for everyone in the industry".

He continued, "The objective for ITV is to rise to those challenges and put itself at the forefront of change. I am very much looking forward to working with the people at ITV and leading the transformation ahead."

The board unanimously made the decision to appoint Mr Crozier as CEO after a comprehensive application procedure. Crozier had turned the Royal Mail from a loss making organisation in to profitable business, making £1 million per day.

Archie Norman, the current chairman of the broadcaster said, "Adam is a very strong leader with a great track record in delivering transformational change."

He further stated that, "ITV is a strong brand with talented people, facing an imperative for change as the media landscape evolves,".

Norman also paid tribute to John Cresswell who will continue as interim chief until Crozier takes over, for his "strong leadership and success in steering the business through the last year and helping build the platform for change."

Mr Crozier will continue his position at Royal Mail within the next few months and Donald Brydon, the current chairman stated: "Adam has done and continues to do a remarkable job in leading Royal Mail through a major transformation in extremely difficult market circumstances. We are in a hugely changing world. Working our way through that is tough but it's not about one man."

Due to opposition from new broadcasters on satellite and freeview, ITV has seen advertising revenue drop in recent years and will be hoping that Mr Crozier can turn this around.

However Archie Norman has rebutted fears that cost cutting will be a key concern for Mr Crozier, who reduced staff numbers and raised stamp prices during his time at Royal Mail.

Norman stated that some parts of the business will need re-investing in and that, "under John Cresswell and his team, over the last year we have achieved probably more in cost reduction than ITV has achieved at any time in the last five years".

(Source BBC News)