Mark Thompson

Mark Thompson CEO of CNN

and is a British media executive who is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ancestry, the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, and Chief Executive Officer of the Cable News Network (CNN). He is the former president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company. From 2004 to 2012, he served as Director-General of the BBC, and before that was the Chief Executive of Channel 4. In 2009 Thompson was ranked as the 65th most powerful person in the world by Forbes magazine. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2017.

Early career :

Thompson first joined the BBC as a production trainee in 1979. His career at the corporation included a number of roles.

In 1981, he assisted in the launch of the long-running consumer programme Watchdog. Two years later he was part of the team that created British television's first national breakfast television programme, Breakfast Time. In 1985, Thompson became the Output Editor of Newsnight and in 1988, at the age of 30, he was promoted to Editor of the Nine O'Clock News.

In 1990, he became Editor of Panorama. He was made Head of Features in 1992 and Head of Factual Programmes in 1994.

In 1996, Thompson succeeded Michael Jackson as Controller of BBC2. He commissioned series including The Cops, The Royle Family, Our Mutual Friend and The Fast Show. He left BBC Two in 1999 and was replaced by Jane Root, who became the channel's first female Controller.

In 1999 Thompson was named Director, National and Regional Broadcasting at the BBC. He became the BBC Director of Television in 2000, but left the corporation in March 2002 to become Chief Executive of Channel 4. He succeeded Michael Jackson in the role, and left in 2004 to be succeeded by Andy Duncan.

CEO of CNN :

On August 30, 2023, Thompson was named the CEO of CNN, replacing Chris Licht, who was fired in June. He will officially start on October 9, 2023. Writing of the appointment in a note to staff, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav shared, "I am confident he is exactly the leader we need to take the helm of CNN at this pivotal time."