Dame Carolyn McCall OBE is CEO of ITV plc, which has undergone a significant transformation to ensure it thrives and succeeds in a ferociously competitive digital media world. Under Carolyn’s leadership since 2018, ITV has successfully transitioned from a linear organisation to a strong linear and digital media, entertainment and global production business.
Between 2010 and 2017, Carolyn was CEO of easyJet, leading a turnaround that resulted in a customer-focused airline that made it easy and affordable for passengers. The share price quadrupled during her tenure. From 2006 to 2010, Carolyn was CEO of the Guardian Media Group, leading six Divisions and creating the investment trust that helped to secure the Guardian’s financial and editorial independence. From 2002, she was CEO of Guardian Newspapers Ltd where she worked closely with the Editor to launch the Guardian website.
Carolyn joined the Board of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation in 2024 and sits on the Finance and Commercial Committee. She also currently serves as a Non-Executive Director (NED) on the Board of Bridgepoint plc, and is the newly appointed President of The Marketing Society. She has previously served as the SID of Burberry, and a NED at Tesco, Lloyds TSB and New Look Group plc. She served as a Trustee of the Royal Academy of Arts for 8 years, and Chaired their Corporate Advisory Board during this time.
In 2016, she was awarded a DBE for services to the aviation industry and received an OBE in 2008 for services to women in business. She was named Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year in 2008 and has received awards for business leadership from the Evening Standard, City AM and Management Today.
Provide in depth information about you and of your achievements.
Alongside my role as CEO, I believe in culture being a powerful positive force to attract the highest quality talent and ensure the best performance, and have been able to shape this in all the organisations where I’ve been CEO. The values of openness, fairness, inclusion and integrity is at the heart of this. Profit with purpose is an important driver. Mentoring and coaching is also a huge part of what I do whether that’s at ITV or more broadly. I am an accredited coach and find mentoring at all levels stimulating and fulfilling. I learnt a lot from mentoring some disabled colleagues through the Generation Valuable programme to better understand and dismantle workplace barriers. ITV was named Best Place to Work for People of Colour in a survey by the TV Collective in 2021, was ranked the top UK Broadcaster/streamer in the Financial Times-Statistica 2025 Diversity Leaders list and achieved reaccreditation as a Disability Confident Leader in 2025.
Provide knowledge on why you think you have been selected for the Chief Executive of the Year Award?
I believe I’ve been nominated because my leadership consistently proves that commercial growth and systemic inclusion must go hand-in-hand. At easyJet, I with my team completely overhauled passenger accessibility by establishing the easyJet Special Assistance Group to transform how the airline supported Disabled passengers. I also actively addressed the aviation industry’s massive gender imbalance by launching the Amy Johnson Initiative to hit a 20% target for female cadet pilots. At ITV, my priority has been hardwiring equity into our core operations and creative output, leading us to hit our structural diversity goals early; 12.3% of our workforce now identifies as Deaf, Disabled, and/or Neurodivergent, exceeding our 2025 targets. In 2018, ITV was the first broadcast to sign up to the Social Mobility Pledge to enable people from all backgrounds to reach their full potential. I also ensured accessibility was built into our commercial products, launching ITVX in 2022 with features like a dedicated BSL FAST channel. Inclusion for all is central to how then ITV team lead and grow the business.
What D&I initiatives have you implemented in your organisation to ensure an inclusive working environment?
Our 2022-27 global DEI strategy has three pillars: mainstream content; creating opportunities; and inclusive culture. At its foundation, we are building accessibility and disability equity into everything we do. Our five colleague networks are pivotal in delivering this. The ITV Diversity Commissioning Spend returned with a further £80 million and the Diversity Development Fund doubled to £1 million over 2025-27 creating and showcase content by, with and for everyone, connecting and reflecting modern audiences. We ask all ITV commissioned programme makers to embed DEI and inclusive practice by applying our ITV Production Principles. Our Step up 60 initiative has supported the development of over 200+ PoC and DDN talent. We’ve launched Fresh Cuts (now Outliers), ITV Studios Disabled Writers in Development and EAST on Screen: ITV Writers’ Room to showcase underrepresented talent. We run DEI training for all colleagues and launched an Inclusive Language Guide and Disability Access Passport.
Provide an overview of the impact you have had on your employees since beginning your role as Chief Executive?
Ade Rawcliffe, ITV’s Chief People Officer, and Sam Tatlow, ITV’s Head of DEI, have both provided a quote for this.
Ade said: “Since beginning her role as Chief Executive, Carolyn McCall has prioritised integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into the core strategy of the business. Her approach has focused on measurable actions, leadership accountability, and creating practical tools to support an inclusive culture, driving a profound impact for employees across ITV.
Under Carolyn’s leadership, ITV published external public diversity targets for the first time to drive transparency and launched the Diversity Acceleration Plan. She also championed Amplify, an internal leadership programme for colleagues of colour and Deaf, Disabled, and Neurodivergent colleagues, which paired cohorts with Management Board sponsors to accelerate their career progression. Crucially, Carolyn has ensured that our five colleague networks are a core and integrated part of the business, meaning these groups don’t just have community support, but hold real influence at the highest level to actively shape our culture and strategy.”
Sam said: “Carolyn understands that real leadership means dismantling barriers so every colleague can thrive. From championing practical tools like the Disability Access Passport to actively sponsoring underrepresented talent through Amplify and supporting our colleague networks, her commitment is personal, authentic and visible. She leads by example, proving that an inclusive culture is built on accountability, empathy, and giving underrepresented voices real influence to shape our business”
What are your plans for the future?
Through our Diversity Commissioning Spend & Diversity Development Fund we will continue working with and creating opportunities for People of Colour-led and Disabled-led indies. Using the Diversity Development Fund to support the development of new ideas, training opportunities and initiatives to create career development opportunities for underrepresented talent. Continue supporting accessibility costs to ensure equitable opportunities for Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent cast and creatives on our shows such as BAFTA award winning Code of Silence and RTS Award winning The Assembly. For internal colleagues,‘Inspire’ a programme supporting women to develop personally and professionally will continue. Our colleague networks will remain at the centre of our work supporting colleagues throughout the year, including finding opportunities for our networks to collaborate and create a sense of belonging including Embrace’s Jewish and Muslim community groups’ joint social events.
Have you had to overcome any barriers/obstacles personally or professionally?
Professionally, the biggest hurdles have involved dismantling deeply ingrained industry habits – such as inaccessible production sets or the historically male-dominated recruitment pools for cadet pilots in aviation – alongside the much harder area of stereotyping and perception. When I joined ITV, navigating the fiercely competitive digital media landscape required us to completely rethink how a legacy broadcaster operates, including challenging the legacy practice of not thinking about accessibility. An example of change at ITV was driving our involvement in the TV Access Project, an initiative setting strict, pan-broadcaster guidelines to make all TV production fully accessible by 2030. We believe that setting targets creates greater accountability from leaders, so we ensured this was central to our approach.
