Channel 4 unveiled on Monday that Alex Mahon has decided to step down as CEO and will leave the U.K. broadcaster in the summer.
Channel 4 chief operating officer, Jonathan Allan will serve as interim CEO while its board undertakes “a comprehensive recruitment process over the coming months to ensure continued outstanding leadership,” it said.
Mahon joined Channel 4 in 2017 as the broadcaster’s first female CEO.
“Working at Channel 4 has been a lifetime privilege because Channel 4 is the most extraordinary organization. What we get to do here is much more than television because we reflect our country with humor, creativity, grit, and care,” Mahon said on Monday. “We try our best to challenge convention and to change conversations. And we do it with a kind of irreverent brilliance that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else.”
She added: “I feel lucky beyond belief to have had the chance to lead Channel 4 for nearly eight
years – through calm seas (very few) and stormy waters (more than our fair share). From navigating the threat of privatization (twice), to shifting out of London, to digital transformation, lockdowns, political upheaval, advertising chaos – there has never been a dull moment. But through every twist and turn, there’s been one constant: the astonishing caliber, resilience, and creativity of all my colleagues at Channel 4.”
Mahon has focused on transforming Channel 4 into a digital-first public service streamer and showcasing creativity and diversity, among other things. “She significantly expanded Channel 4’s contribution to U.K. life, enlarging the organization’s operations in the nations and regions, growing its commitment to British IP, and helping open up the sector to those aspiring to a career in television and film,” the broadcaster said. “She tirelessly championed Britain’s young people, calling for urgent regulation and action to give a generation confidence and connection to the world around them amidst a digital landscape flooded with misinformation.”
Among the Channel 4 programs developed under Mahon’s leadership that have made an impact have been the likes of It’s a Sin, Russell Brand: In Plain Sight: Dispatches, and The Piano.
“Few films have been more affecting than The Zone of Interest, The Banshees of Inisherin, All of Us Strangers, and Poor Things,” the broadcaster added about the work of its movie unit Film4.
Concluded Channel 4: “Alex’s commitment to fairness in the workplace, and especially to women’s health and disability representation, saw her launch the U.K. media’s first menopause and pregnancy loss policies, which have since been adopted by companies worldwide.”
Dawn Airey, Channel 4’s interim chair, lauded Mahon as “a great figure in British television,” adding:
“She has been one of the most impactful CEOs since Jeremy Isaacs’ founding of Channel 4 more than 42 years ago. She is business-minded and has also been transformational both culturally and creatively, proving time and again her extraordinary ability to inspire and drive positive and meaningful change. Under her leadership, Channel 4 has moved with the times and driven the times.”
