Tess Alps has been appointed to Channel 4’s board. The former Thinkbox chair and CEO joins the board of the public-service broadcaster (PSB) as a non-executive member.
Alps spent over 14 years at Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK. She was the founding CEO and then the chair, up until her retirement from the company at the end of 2020. Prior to joining Thinkbox, Alps worked at PHD, rising to chairperson of the agency. She currently serves as a council member of the Advertising Standards’ Association (ASA).
Alps’ appointment comes as three other non-executive board members are added; Dawn Airey, David Kogan and Sarah Sands. Airey was a former CEO of fellow PSB Channel 5 and managing director of channels and services for BSkyB. Kogan OBE was CEO of Reel Enterprises,a strategy and commercial rights negotiator that specialises in advising television, newspaper and sports companies. Sands is a journalist who has held editorial positions at publications including the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, and on the BBC’s Today programme.
The new board members join at a time when Channel 4’s future is unknown. The UK government has been consulting on whether to privatise the broadcaster, with ministers making the case for taking it out of public ownership. Channel 4’s executives, including CEO Alex Mahon, have argued that putting the PSB into private ownership would be a mistake.
Last month, The Times reported that minister Nadine Dorries had deferred making a decision on the future of the broadcaster, following backlash from a public consultation.
“I am delighted to welcome Dawn Airey, Tess Alps, David Kogan and Sarah Sands to the Channel 4 Board,” said Charles Gurassa, chair of Channel 4, “They have all enjoyed long and distinguished careers in the media and creative industries and their deep sectoral knowledge will be a huge asset to the Board. As well as bringing a breadth and depth of personal creative and leadership experience, they all share a great admiration and enthusiasm for Channel 4’s unique role and creative energy.”
