Channel 4 Board

Sir Ian Cheshire – Chair

Joined the Board on 11 April 2022. His appointment runs until 10 April 2025.

Sir Ian is currently Chair of Land Securities plc, Chair of Spire Healthcare Group plc, and Chair of the King Charles III Charitable Fund. Sir Ian is also Chair of the We Mean Business Coalition, Chair of the Mental Health at Work Leadership Council, and non-executive director of the environmental investment trust Menhaden plc. 

Previous appointments were Chair of Debenhams, Barclays Bank UK, CEO of Kingfisher plc, B&Q and Maisons du monde. Lead non-executive director for the Government and Non-Executive Director of BT Group plc. He was Chair of the British Retail Consortium, Chair of the Prince of Wales Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, President of the Business Disability Forum President’s Group and chaired the Ecosystem Markets Task Force and GR Task Force.  Sir Ian was lead non-executive director at the UK Cabinet Office and Department for Work and Pensions and also, previously held non-executive director roles at Whitbread Plc where he was Senior Independent Director.

Sir Ian was knighted in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to Business, Sustainability and the Environment and is a Chevalier of the Ordre National du Merite of France.

Dawn Airey CBE – Non-Executive Deputy Chair

Joined the Board on 6 December 2021. Her appointment runs until 5 December 2027.

Dawn’s career includes roles as Chair and CEO of Channel 5, Managing Director of Channels and Services for BSkyB, Managing Director of Global Content at ITV and Senior Vice-President of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Yahoo. 

She is currently Chair of the National Youth Theatre, Barclays FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship, and the Digital Theatre Group.

Dawn was made a CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours in recognition of her services to theatre and charity.

Alex Burford – NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Joined the Board on 19 February 2024. His appointment runs until 18 February 2027.

Alex is a record label executive with 15 years’ experience and has been the Managing Director at Warner Records UK since 2022. Alex is the youngest Managing Director of any frontline major record label in the UK and was previously the General Manager of Black Butter – a joint venture with Sony Music. He has worked with some of the biggest artists in the world, including Dua Lipa, Liam Gallagher and PinkPantheress.

Andrew Miller – Non-Executive Director

Joined the Board on 1 June 2020 as Non-Executive Director and Chair of Channel 4's Audit Committee. His appointment runs until 30 Sept 2026.

Andrew is Chief Executive of Motability Operations plc. An accountant by training and a leader in digital transformation, Andrew has also held senior executive positions at a number of multinational consumer and media groups. These include Food Folk Group Holdings – owner of the McDonald’s licence for the Nordics Scandinavia – Guardian Media Group and Autotrader, taking the latter from a print magazine to a digital platform. Prior to this, Andrew held senior finance roles at Frito-Lay Europe, Procter & Gamble and Bass. He has also held Non-Executive Director roles and was Audit Chair at the AA plc and Ocean Outdoor Media plc.

Andrew is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and sits on the Advisory Board for Sarah Brown's Theirworld charity.

Dame Annette King – NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Joined the Board on 8 January 2024. Her appointment runs until 7 January 2027. 

Annette has worked in the advertising industry for 30 years and is currently the Global Marketing Practice Lead at Accenture Song. Previously she was the CEO of Publicis Groupe UK, where she was responsible for the transformation and growth of multiple media, creative, PR, design, health and B2B businesses.

Until 2017, Annette was CEO of Ogilvy UK having previously been CEO and Chair of Ogilvy One, joining the agency after eight years at Wunderman. She chairs the Advertising Association and is a member of the UK Investment Council, representing the creative industries. Between 2018 and 2021 she chaired the Creative Industries Trade & Investment Board (CITIB) and was also a Board Director at London First.

Debbie Wosskow OBE – NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Joined the Board on 8 January 2024. Her appointment runs until 7 January 2027. 

Debbie is a leading UK entrepreneur with over 25 years in the digital economy. She previously founded and scaled to exit, Love Home Swap and AllBright. Debbie is an Investor and Co-Chair of The Better Menopause, and an advisor to McKinsey & Company and Omaze. She serves on the Boards of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, The Mayor of London’s Business Board and The Rose Review into Female Entrepreneurship.

Michael Lynton – NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Joined the Board on 25 April 2022. His appointment runs until 25 April 2028.

Michael is currently Chair of Snap Inc, a position he has held since 2016 having joined Snap’s Board in 2013. He has also been Chair of Warner Music Group since 2019.

Previously, Michael served as Chair and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc from 2004 until 2017, and additionally as CEO of Sony Entertainment Inc and Sony Corporation of America from 2012 to 2017.

Prior to joining Sony, he has worked at The Walt Disney Company – where he started Disney Publishing and subsequently served as President of Disney's Hollywood Pictures; Pearson plc – where he was Chair and CEO of Penguin Group; and Time Warner – where he was CEO of AOL Europe, President of AOL International, and President of Time Warner International.

Michael is also currently a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian, the Council on Foreign Relations, the RAND Corporation, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Tate.

Sarah Sands – Non-Executive Director

Joined the Board on 6 December 2021. Her appointment runs until 5 December 2027.

Sarah’s career spans 35 years in news, current affairs and as an author. She has held some of the most senior editorial positions in the industry at the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail, Readers’ Digest, London Evening Standard and the BBC’s Today programme.

Sebastian James – NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Joined the Board on 8 January 2024. His appointment runs until 7 January 2027. 

Seb is the CEO of Boots and has a long career working on household brands and FTSE companies including Dixons Carphone, Silverscreen and Mothercare. Seb is also an experienced non-executive director and has served on the board of Direct Line Insurance Group since 2014, Modern Art Oxford and Save the Children and is currently a trustee of English Heritage.

Tess Alps – Non-Executive Director

Joined the Board on 6 December 2021. Her appointment runs until 5 December 2027. 

Tess began her career in advertising before joining global media buying agency PHD, where she became UK Chair. She spent over 14 years at Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial television in the UK, as its CEO and eventually its Chair. 

Tess is currently a Council member of the Advertising Standards Authority.

Tom Adeyoola – NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Joined the Board on 8 January 2024. His appointment runs until 7 January 2027. 

Tom is a technology entrepreneur with 25 years’ experience in new media, disruptive technology and business strategy. Tom brings experience in the media and entertainment business through his roles at Filmbank Distributors and Inspired Gaming Group. He launched Metail, a 3D and fashion AI scaleup. Tom has also served on charity, non-profit, high-growth company, independent school and public advisory boards. He is currently co-founder of non-profit Extend Ventures which diversifies access to finance for underrepresented founders.

Alex Mahon – Chief Executive

Alex Mahon is the Chief Executive of Channel 4, a publicly owned and commercially funded public service media organisation that creates change through entertainment. Under Alex’s leadership, Channel 4 has transformed into a digital-first public media company with the UK’s biggest free streaming service and one of the largest social media brands for young people in the UK. During this period, Channel 4’s public ownership has been secured, its impact across the nations and regions has grown, and its investment in skills has opened up the sector to those aspiring to a career in television and film. Alex is a passionate supporter of equitable representation and is committed to championing women’s health at work. Prior to Channel 4, she was CEO of Foundry and before that of Shine Group. She has also worked at Talkback Thames, Fremantle Media Group and RTL Group. Alex started her career as a PhD Physicist with a stint at CERN before moving into launching internet businesses. Alex is currently a member of the UK Creative Industries Council and an ambassador for London Tech Week. She is a Non-Executive Board Member of Chanel Inc and has been on the Advisory Board of Salesforce.

Jonathan Allan – Chief Operating Officer

Jonathan was appointed as Chief Operating Officer in 2020, following two years as Chief Commercial Officer and seven years as Sales Director at Channel 4.

Jonathan graduated in Economics from Newcastle University and immediately joined a full-service agency, Cravens Advertising, in the City.

He joined the TV department at major London media agency OMD UK in 1995 and then was appointed to the Board as TV Director in January 2000. He subsequently moved into communications strategy and new business for a number of years and was appointed Deputy Managing Director in February 2005 and, in January 2007, he became Managing Director.

Ian Katz – Chief Content Officer

Ian joined Channel 4 in January 2018. He has overall responsibility for the creative output across Channel 4, its portfolio of channels and on streaming.

Ian is an experienced creative leader with an award-winning track record in both broadcast and newspaper journalism. At Channel 4 he has been responsible for greenlighting critically acclaimed shows ranging from The Big Narstie Show to Brexit: The Uncivil War and It’s A Sin. He was editor of BBC Newsnight from 2013 to 2017, a period which saw the show collect awards for exposing the Kids Company scandal, covering the Grenfell fire and investigating the massacre of Rohingyas in Myanmar.

Previously, Ian worked in a wide range of roles at The Guardian, including features, foreign reporting and launching the paper on the internet. As Deputy Editor and Head of News (2008-2013), he oversaw the groundbreaking WikiLeaks and phone-hacking investigations.