The BBC has appointed Amanda Jones as Chief Financial Officer of its wholly-owned commercial arm, BBC Studios.
The company owns a host of production businesses, channels, and streaming services around the world, including in the UK where its UKTV division operates one of the nation’s biggest portfolios of commercial channels.
It’s also responsible for overseeing the merchandising of BBC brands, the sale of BBC-owned formats and operating the BBC.com website for which it recently introduced a subscription for US visitors.
Jones, who was previously interim CFO, takes up the role in August and will also join both the BBC Studios Executive Committee and the BBC’s Commercial Board.
Her career includes finance roles across media organisations such as Sky, ITV and Emap, as well as data, insight and consulting company Kantar.
At BBC Studios she will be responsible for the overall financial strategy and teams for the BBC’s commercial group, as well as overseeing budgeting, reporting, business support and financial controls.
Fussell said: “As BBC Studios seeks to grow its business in a highly challenging market, Amanda will be instrumental in helping us drive the business forward to deliver against our ambitious plans.
“She is a highly commercial finance executive with extensive experience at board level in large and global organisations and holds an impressive track record in bringing together different businesses and supporting digital product growth strategies in traditional media organisations.
“Having worked with Amanda in her interim role over the last few months, I’m delighted she will be joining the executive team on a permanent basis.
“I also wanted to share my thanks to Lorraine Burgess, who is stepping down from the role, for the enormous contribution she has made to the growth of BBC Studios since she joined in 2021. She has been a much loved and respected colleague across the whole company, and I wish her well, and continued success, with her future plans.”
Amanda Jones added: “I’m delighted to be joining BBC Studios at such a pivotal point on its journey. As a world-renowned content company with a distinctive global brand, BBC Studios has enormous potential for continued growth and innovation.
“I look forward to working closely with the leadership team to drive sustainable growth, strengthen our financial strategy, and support its creative and commercial ambitions around the world.”