ITV (LON:ITV) chief executive Adam Crozier is set to step down, after seven years at the helm of the broadcasting company.
Mr Crozier has been credited with having spearheaded a successful turnaround for ITV, following the recession and declining advertising revenues impacting profit margins. Prior to his seven years at ITV, Crozier headed both the Football Association and Royal Mail.
Under Crozier’s tenure as CEO, ITV significantly focused their efforts on revitalising the production arm of their businesses, developing many successful original series such as Downtown Abbey, which has since gone on to achieve international popularity.
Mr Crozier said: “Having spent 21 years as a chief executive across four very different industries, I now feel that the time is right for me to move to the next stage of my career and to build a portfolio of roles across the plc and private sectors.”
The broadcasting company have yet to announce Mr Crozier’s replacement. In the meantime, TV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette will be acting interim CEO whilst the company deliberate on an appropriate replacement.
Mr Bazalgette commented in a statement that Mr Crozier “has made a fantastic contribution to ITV and the board is deeply indebted to him for his strong leadership and personal dedication in very successfully turning around the business and building a more global and diversified organisation with real scale in key creative markets around the world”.
Last year, it was speculated that the Rupert Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox was preparing to make a bid for ITV. Instead, Fox announced a preliminary takeover agreement for rival broadcaster Sky (LON:SKY). The proposed deal is currently under investigation by UK regulators, after receiving an extension by the department of Culture, Media and Sport in light of the upcoming snap election.
Shares in the broadcaster are currently down marginally by 0.19 percent as of 11.18AM (GMT).