BBC's Mark Thompson to step down as director general in the autumn:
UK's top TV executive confirms he is to leave after the Olympics
BBC director general Mark Thompson has confirmed he will step down from the role in the autumn following the London Olympics.
Thompson, who has been in the job since 2004, told staff it would be an appropriate time to "hand over" to a successor.
Britain's most powerful television executive, Thompson indicated to senior colleagues in January that he would step down later this year or at the beginning of 2013, as revealed by the Guardian.
His departure could see the first female director general, with BBC chief operating officer Caroline Thomson and head of news Helen Boaden among the leading internal candidates, along with head of BBC Vision, George Entwistle.
Thompson said the BBC Trust should begin the process of finding the next director general "as soon as they see fit".
He told BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten of the timing of his departure in a meeting on Monday morning.
In a message sent to all BBC staff shortly afterwards, Thompson said he would be leaving "once the Olympics and the rest of the amazing summer of 2012 are over".
"When Chris Patten became BBC chairman last year, I told him I thought there was a strong case for handing over to a successor sooner rather than later," said Thompson.
"From the point of view of the BBC, I thought that my successor should have time to really get their feet under the table before the next charter review process got going."
The BBC Trust has already embarked on the process of finding Thompson's successor, having hired headhunters Egon Zehnder in January.
Thompson said "rather amazingly" he was already the longest-serving director general.
With some understatement, Thompson said: "We've weathered a series of lively storms and been through some trying as well as some very successful times together.
"What has made my job not just bearable, but immensely enjoyable and rewarding, is all of you: your talent and energy, your unshakeable belief in the BBC and everything it stands for."
Those "lively storms" included the circumstances of Thompson taking up the director general job in June 2004 in the wake of the Hutton report – which had led to the resignation of the previous director general, Greg Dyke and chairman, Gavyn Davies, prompting arguably the BBC's worst ever corporate crisis.
Then there was "Sachsgate", "Crowngate" and a string of other deception and fakery rows, the controversy over the last licence fee settlement and successive rounds of cost-cutting leading to the most recent, "Delivering Quality First".
Thompson said he had "always been on the side of change" even though that brings "disruption and uncertainty in its wake".
He said it was down to the efforts of staff that the BBC he was leaving "is so much stronger than the BBC I inherited back in 2004".
"Trust and approval are at record highs, our services are in brilliant creative form and we've demonstrated beyond contradiction that the BBC can be just as much of a leader and innovator in the digital age as we once were in the analogue one," Thompson added.
"Now more than ever, to audiences at home and abroad the BBC is the best broadcaster in the world. It's been a great privilege helping you to keep the BBC in that top spot over the past eight years."
The exact date of Thompson's departure remains to be confirmed. He said he would be "guided by the wishes of the trust and of my successor, whoever that may be".
Patten said: "Mark Thompson has been an outstanding director general of the BBC. He took over during a traumatic period in the corporation's history and subsequently enhanced its reputation for creativity and quality, while setting the course for the BBC's digital future.
"I will miss him on both a personal and professional level and I wish him the very best of luck for the future. The trust will shortly begin the process of recruiting a successor."
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
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UK's top TV executive confirms he is to leave after the Olympics
BBC director general Mark Thompson has confirmed he will step down from the role in the autumn following the London Olympics.
Thompson, who has been in the job since 2004, told staff it would be an appropriate time to "hand over" to a successor.
Britain's most powerful television executive, Thompson indicated to senior colleagues in January that he would step down later this year or at the beginning of 2013, as revealed by the Guardian.
His departure could see the first female director general, with BBC chief operating officer Caroline Thomson and head of news Helen Boaden among the leading internal candidates, along with head of BBC Vision, George Entwistle.
Thompson said the BBC Trust should begin the process of finding the next director general "as soon as they see fit".
He told BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten of the timing of his departure in a meeting on Monday morning.
In a message sent to all BBC staff shortly afterwards, Thompson said he would be leaving "once the Olympics and the rest of the amazing summer of 2012 are over".
"When Chris Patten became BBC chairman last year, I told him I thought there was a strong case for handing over to a successor sooner rather than later," said Thompson.
"From the point of view of the BBC, I thought that my successor should have time to really get their feet under the table before the next charter review process got going."
The BBC Trust has already embarked on the process of finding Thompson's successor, having hired headhunters Egon Zehnder in January.
Thompson said "rather amazingly" he was already the longest-serving director general.
With some understatement, Thompson said: "We've weathered a series of lively storms and been through some trying as well as some very successful times together.
"What has made my job not just bearable, but immensely enjoyable and rewarding, is all of you: your talent and energy, your unshakeable belief in the BBC and everything it stands for."
Those "lively storms" included the circumstances of Thompson taking up the director general job in June 2004 in the wake of the Hutton report – which had led to the resignation of the previous director general, Greg Dyke and chairman, Gavyn Davies, prompting arguably the BBC's worst ever corporate crisis.
Then there was "Sachsgate", "Crowngate" and a string of other deception and fakery rows, the controversy over the last licence fee settlement and successive rounds of cost-cutting leading to the most recent, "Delivering Quality First".
Thompson said he had "always been on the side of change" even though that brings "disruption and uncertainty in its wake".
He said it was down to the efforts of staff that the BBC he was leaving "is so much stronger than the BBC I inherited back in 2004".
"Trust and approval are at record highs, our services are in brilliant creative form and we've demonstrated beyond contradiction that the BBC can be just as much of a leader and innovator in the digital age as we once were in the analogue one," Thompson added.
"Now more than ever, to audiences at home and abroad the BBC is the best broadcaster in the world. It's been a great privilege helping you to keep the BBC in that top spot over the past eight years."
The exact date of Thompson's departure remains to be confirmed. He said he would be "guided by the wishes of the trust and of my successor, whoever that may be".
Patten said: "Mark Thompson has been an outstanding director general of the BBC. He took over during a traumatic period in the corporation's history and subsequently enhanced its reputation for creativity and quality, while setting the course for the BBC's digital future.
"I will miss him on both a personal and professional level and I wish him the very best of luck for the future. The trust will shortly begin the process of recruiting a successor."
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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