From alpha mail to broadcasting mogul – Adam Crozier takes helm at ITV

Published on Thursday 28 January 2010 21:34

BROADCASTER ITV's search for a chief executive reached a conclusion yesterday when the company appointed controversial Royal Mail boss Adam Crozier.

The commercial channel had been searching for a new chief executive after talks with former BSkyB chief Tony Ball collapsed in September due to his pay demands. The appointment ends a period of boardroom uncertainty at the business, which has suffered from an advertising slump in the recession.

Earlier this month, former Asda chief executive Archie Norman took over as the broadcaster's chairman, replacing industry veteran Michael Grade.

Mr Crozier, who was born and brought up in Scotland, will take up the reins at ITV later this year. He has been chief executive of Royal Mail for seven years and before that held the same role at the Football Association.

He has expressed a dislike of personal publicity, but hit the headlines in 2007 when it emerged that, as 2,500 post offices were closing in 2007, he was entitled to more than 3 million in pay and bonuses.

Though media commentators expressed surprise at the ITV appointment, Mr Norman said the 46-year-old had a "thorough understanding of the media, advertising and branding industries" and showed his mettle by getting to grips with Royal Mail – where he earned almost 1m in pay and bonuses last year.

"In his seven years at the Royal Mail, Adam has transformed the group from a loss-making organisation into a profitable business that last year doubled its operating profits to more than 320m," he added.

Mr Crozier has driven through a robust programme of modernisation at the Royal Mail in the face of fierce opposition from unions, which launched a wave of strikes last year.

Mr Crozier said ITV was "a company with a great heritage and one of the best brands in the UK".

He went on: "The entire media sector is going through enormous change and that presents both great opportunities and significant challenges for the industry."

Mr Norman said the new chief executive's salary and package would be "in the normal range for a role of this scale and challenge". He added: "We're not in the Tony Ball league – very far from it."

Despite ITV's consideration of other candidates, the chairman said the board's decision on the appointment had been "unanimous and emphatic that he was by far the best choice".

Mr Norman added: "He was my choice and he would have been my first choice if I had been chairman a year ago."

Mr Crozier's main task will be to lead a "change in culture and organisation as well as business direction" – including heading the shift away from ITV's current dependence on advertising in a fast-changing media landscape.

Mr Norman will give a further update on strategy in March's annual results.

Last night, Bectu, the media and entertainment union with recognition rights at ITV plc, welcomed the appointment as an "end to the uncertainty".

General-secretary Gerry Morrissey said: "We welcome today's announcement in the hope that Adam Crozier will recognise the talents of ITV staff and the future benefits of retaining the company as a producer/broadcaster dedicated to the production of output across the range of genres."

The company will remain under the leadership of interim chief executive John Cresswell, who said in October that he would leave to seek a fresh challenge after the appointment and arrival of the new boss.

CV: Softly spoken man of steel

DESCRIBED once as "the iron fist in a woolly glove" on account of his soft-spoken but steely manner, Falkirk-born Adam Crozier has never shied away from controversy when it comes to business. He was appointed joint chief executive of advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi in 1995 at the age of 31, just as Maurice and Charles Saatchi had walked out and taken most of the senior staff and some of the biggest clients with them.

His shift to the Football Association in 2000 aged 35 and with no experience of business in football was a surprise appointment. Hired as a moderniser, Crozier made enemies as he clashed with the association's old guard, increasing its revenue streams as he did, though insiders complained that he spent vast tranches of this on marketing, generating resentment as he did.

His eight-year stint as chief executive of Royal Mail was also defined by controversy. Brought in to ostensibly save the ailing company, his decision to close 2,500 post offices while receiving a salary package worth millions, attracted the opprobrium of politicians and union.

However, a former Football Association colleague commented on his management style: "It's typical of Adam that he enters an organisation without friends and leaves without any."