Mark Thompson

Sir Mark John Thompson (born 31 July 1957 ) is a British media executive who is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ancestry, the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, and Chief Executive Officer of the Cable News Network (CNN).

He is the former president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company.

Thompson first joined the BBC as a production trainee in 1979.

His career at the corporation included a number of roles.

In 1981, he assisted in the launch of the long-running consumer programme Watchdog. Two years later he was part of the team that created British television's first national breakfast television programme, Breakfast Time.

In 1985, Thompson became the Output Editor of Newsnight and in 1988, at the age of 30, he was promoted to Editor of the Nine O'Clock News.

In 1990, he became Editor of Panorama. He was made Head of Features in 1992 and Head of Factual Programmes in 1994.

In 1996, Thompson succeeded Michael Jackson as Controller of BBC2.

He commissioned series including The Cops, The Royle Family, Our Mutual Friend and The Fast Show.

He left BBC Two in 1999 and was replaced by Jane Root, who became the channel's first female Controller.

In 1999 Thompson was named Director, National and Regional Broadcasting at the BBC.

He became the BBC Director of Television in 2000, but left the corporation in March 2002 to become Chief Executive of Channel 4.

From 2004 to 2012, he served as Director-General of the BBC, and before that was the Chief Executive of Channel 4.

He succeeded Michael Jackson in the role, and left in 2004 to be succeeded by Andy Duncan.

Thompson was appointed Director-General of the BBC on 21 May 2004.

He succeeded Greg Dyke, who resigned on 29 January 2004 in the aftermath of the Hutton Inquiry.

Although he had originally stated he was not interested in the role of Director-General and would turn down any approach from the BBC, he changed his mind, saying the job was a "one-of-a-kind opportunity".

The decision to appoint Thompson Director-General was made unanimously by the BBC Board of Governors, headed by the then new Chairman Michael Grade (another former chief executive of Channel 4).

His appointment was widely praised: Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, Shadow Culture Secretary Julie Kirkbride and Greg Dyke were amongst those who supported his selection.

He took up the role of Director-General on 22 June 2004 (Mark Byford had been Acting Director-General since Dyke's resignation).

On his first day he announced several management changes, including the replacement of the BBC's sixteen-person executive committee with a slimmed-down executive board of nine top managers.

In 2007 it emerged that the BBC had been involved in a number of editorial guideline breaches.

Thompson, as BBC editor-in-chief, investigated the breaches, and presented his interim report to the BBC Trust on 18 July 2007.

The Trust felt that the BBC's values of accuracy and honesty had been compromised, and Thompson outlined to the Trust the actions he would take to restore confidence.

Later that day he told BBC staff, via an internal televised message, that deception of the public was never acceptable.

He said that he, himself, had never deceived the public – it would never have occurred to him to do so, and that he was sure that the same applied to the "overwhelming majority" of BBC staff.

He also spoke on BBC News 24 and was interviewed by Gavin Esler for Newsnight.

He stated that "from now on, if it [deceiving the public] happens we will show people the door."

Staff were emailed on 19 July 2007 and later in the year all staff, including the Director-General, undertook a Safeguarding Trust course.

In October 2008, Thompson had to cut short a family holiday to return to Britain to deal with the arrival of The Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row.

Thompson took the executive decision to suspend the BBC's highest paid presenter, Jonathan Ross, from all his BBC work for three months without pay.

He also said it was the controversial star's last warning.

In 2009 Thompson was ranked as the 65th most powerful person in the world by Forbes magazine.

He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2017.

Thompson was born in London, England, and brought up in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, by his parents, Sydney ( Corduff) and Duncan John Thompson.

Sydney was Irish, the daughter of a County Donegal policeman.

Mark Thompson has a sister, Katherine.

Duncan Thompson was an accountant from Preston who died when Mark was twelve after suffering from chronic illness and depression.

Mark Thompson was educated by Jesuits at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, and then went to Merton College, Oxford where he took a first in English.

He edited the university magazine, Isis.