Channel 4 appoints Disney's Diane Herbert as Director Human Resource

26 January 2005

Diane Herbert, Director of Human Resources

Channel 4 has announced the appointment of Diane Herbert as its new Director of Human Resources, replacing Peter Meier who is stepping down after four years with the company.

Herbert, who is currently Vice President, Human Resources for The Walt Disney Company in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will join Channel 4 in March and will report to Chief Executive, Andy Duncan.

Duncan said: "Peter has succeeded in putting human resources right at the top of the channel's agenda in the last four years and making significant improvements in our internal culture. In Diane we are confident we have found an outstanding practitioner who is capable of building on all Peter's hard work and meeting the challenges of managing and motivating a creative workforce in a fast moving and high pressure industry."

Herbert added: "I've had nine great years with Disney and I'll be very sad to leave, but I'm equally excited by the opportunity to join such a dynamic and widely admired company and work with Andy to put his strategic plan for Channel 4 in place."

In her current role, Herbert has management responsibility for a team providing human resources support for more than 6,600 Walt Disney Company staff in 11 separate business units and spread across three continents. She joined Walt Disney in 1996, initially with The Disney Store, Europe and rose to become the business unit's Human Resources Director in 1999. A year later she was promoted to Vice President, Human Resources for Disney Consumer Products and in March 2001 took on the same role for The Walt Disney Company in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 

Prior to joining Disney, Herbert worked in Human Resources for a variety of blue-chip companies, including Guinness Brewing Worldwide, Motorola and BOC.

Meier is taking early retirement from the channel and will not be seeking another full-time role, but will continue to work as a consultant and in a non-executive capacity.