ITV search hits another wall

ITV

The bosses of ITV have suffered another setback in their search in an appointment for a chairman and a chief executive.

One of the front-runners for the chairman's role, Sir Michael Bishop, has ruled himself out of the race, after declaring that the commercial broadcaster was crippled by a dysfunctional board as well as strained and contradictory relationships with its investors.

A spokesman for Sir Michael said to The Times that he had "decided he did not wish to proceed" after "a thorough review of the position and its responsibilities", leaving the broadcaster no nearer filling any of its top jobs after a disastrous five-month search. The spokesman declined to give any further reasons as to Sir Michael's refusal to proceed.

Sir Michael had been seen as a popular choice for the chairman's job, as he was one of the few candidates with some broadcasting experience. He had previously been chairman of Channel 4 during the 1990s, although most of his career was spent running BMI.

Chief operating officer John Cresswell will become interim chief executive once a chairman is in place, but said he will leave the company once a permanent replacement is found.

The channel is struggling to find a replacement for executive chairman Michael Grade, who is leaving the company at the end of the year. His role will be split back into those of chairman and chief executive.

Sir Crispin Davis, who was another of the favourites to become chairman, withdrew from the race last week. Sir Michael Bishop was understood to have the widespread support of ITV shareholders.

"The committee has revised its short-list accordingly and is continuing its search with all due speed," ITV said today.

Last month, ITV had to abandon its plans to appoint former BSkyB boss Tony Ball as chief executive. The broadcaster objected to a list of demands from Ball, including a pay package which could have seen him collect as much as GBP£42 million, according to ITV sources.

ITV's nominations committee is headed by former HBOS chief executive Sir James Crosby.

According to The Times, other potential chairman candidates contacted have included Sir Christopher Gent, the former Vodafone chief and chairman of GlaxoSmithKline, Sir Christopher Bland, the former BT chairman, and Martin Broughton, chairman of British Airways, but corporate governance codes mean both Sir Christopher and Broughton would have to give up their current chairmanships to take the post.

The new chairman, will have a huge challenge on their hands, whoever it turns out to be. ITV has been facing a battle with falling advertising, high debts and a pension deficit.

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