12 Dec 2017

Tom Hooper Appointed to Board of Britain’s Channel 4

The Oscar winner is one of four new non-executive directors joining the board of the public service broadcaster.

British media regulator Ofcom on Tuesday unveiled the addition of four non-executive directors to the board of U.K. public service broadcaster Channel 4, including The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper.

The Oscar winner’s films also include The Danish Girl and Les Miserables. His first professional short, Painted Faces, aired on Channel 4 in 1992.

“His film and television work has received a number of industry awards and nominations, including Emmys and Golden Globes for Elizabeth I and Longford, both of which he directed for Channel 4,” the announcement also said.

Also named to Channel 4 board roles were Uzma Hasan, a producer and co-founder of Little House Productions, which focuses on “bringing subversive stories to global audiences,” who also sits on selection committees for the British Independent Film Awards and Film London and consults for the International Film Festival Rotterdam; Althea Efunshile, the chair of the National College Creative Industries; and Fru Hazlitt, the former managing director of commercial, online and interactive at ITV and CEO of Virgin Radio.

The four additions to the board, which so far has had 12 members, were approved by Karen Bradley, U.K. secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport.

Channel 4 is governed by the board, made up of executive and non-executive directors who are responsible for ensuring that the public service broadcaster delivers on its remit and financial responsibilities. Non-executive directors are appointed by Ofcom under an agreement with the culture secretary.

The Channel 4 board is led by non-executive chair Charles Gurassa and also includes the company’s CEO, Alex Mahon.