Blackbird plc appoints former Channel 5 CEO, Dawn Airey, to Board

Posted: 23/05/2019

23 May, London – Blackbird plc (AIM: BIRD), the developer and seller of the market-leading cloud video platform, Blackbird, is pleased to announce that Dawn Airey will join the Board of Blackbird on 23 May 2019 as a Non-Executive Director.

Dawn is a veteran of the media industry, having worked in television for 30 years, holding senior positions with the majority of the United Kingdom’s commercial broadcasters. Most recently, she spent three years as CEO of Getty Images (October 2015 – December 2018), prior to which she spent two years as Senior Vice President at Yahoo! Inc’s EMEA office, where she led the Company’s operations in the region.

Prior to joining Yahoo!, Dawn held leadership positions at many major UK media companies, including President of a unit of RTL Group, Channel 5’s parent company, and Chairwoman and Chief Executive of Channel 5, where she oversaw all operations. She also worked as Managing Director of Global Content at ITV where she oversaw its UK and international production and content businesses. Prior to that, she served as Managing Director, Channels and Services, at BSkyB, the UK’s largest pay-TV broadcaster.

In 2018, Dawn was conferred as an Honorary Doctor of Arts, awarded by Edge Hill University for her outstanding contributions to the media industry. She was awarded a fellowship by the Royal Television Society (RTS) in 1998. She is a Vice President of the RTS, a Non-Executive Director of Getty Images, Inc., a Non-Executive Director of Thomas Cook Plc and Chair of The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. She holds a degree from the University of Cambridge.

Andrew Bentley, Chairman of Blackbird, said: “We are delighted that Dawn is joining the board where we know she will make a great contribution. Dawn has a wealth of relevant and valuable senior media industry experience across her remarkable career and the whole board looks forward to working with her in order to grow shareholder value.”

Ian McDonough, CEO of Blackbird, said: “It’s a real coup to have someone of Dawn’s calibre and media industry stature join our board. Her international experience and network make her an ideal candidate and aligns perfectly with our global strategy and the executive team are looking forward to working with her.”

Dawn Airey said: “I am excited to be joining the formidable team at Blackbird. The video technology that has been developed is extraordinary. I look forward to playing a part in guiding and amplifying its global potential.”