Former Google Executive Matt Brittin Named 18th BBC Director-General

Matt Brittin was named the BBC's new director-general on Wednesday, taking the helm at the UK's national broadcaster as it navigates perhaps the most turbulent stretch in its 100-year history. The former Google EMEA chief will take on the most powerful role in British broadcasting, replacing Tim Davie.

He will join on May 18 and be paid £565,000. He will take over the role from Rhodri Talfan Davies, who had been serving in the position on an interim basis from April 2. Brittin becomes the 18th director-general in the corporation's history.

A Cambridge graduate, Brittin joined McKinsey as a consultant before becoming commercial director at Trinity Mirror. He joined Google in January 2007, became managing director of Google UK in 2009, and in December 2014 was appointed president of EMEA business and operations. He stepped down from Google last year after 18 years, saying he wanted a break. Since February 2025, he has been a non-executive board member at The Guardian.

Brittin acknowledged the weight of the moment in his statement. "This is a moment of real risk, yet also real opportunity," he said. "The BBC needs the pace and energy to be both where stories are, and where audiences are. To build on the reach, trust and creative strengths today, confront challenges with courage, and thrive as a public service fit for the future. I can't wait to start this work." He added: "It's an extraordinary, uniquely British asset, with over 100 years of innovation in storytelling, technology and powering creativity. I'm honoured and excited to be asked to serve as director-general."

BBC chairman Samir Shah said Brittin "brings to the BBC deep experience of leading a high-profile and highly-complex organisation through transformation." Shah also noted that the government's review of the BBC Charter is underway, that "there is need for radical reform of the BBC, its funding model and the framework in which it operates," and that "the stakes for the BBC, and the future of public service broadcasting, have never been higher."

Former director-general Mark Thompson, now CEO and chairman of CNN, welcomed the appointment. "It's clearly a bold and interesting choice, an advance payment on the future," Thompson said. "Matt Brittin isn't a broadcaster or journalist by background but brings skills and experiences to the job that no previous director general has had. He is genuinely public spirited and strategic and is an interesting and encouraging choice."

The praise was not universal. The Times wrote that appointing a tech executive with no broadcasting experience "has raised some eyebrows." The chairwoman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, said Brittin "will have a significant job on his hands" navigating a charter review that will define the BBC's purpose beyond the next decade.

Tim Davie had been in post for about five years and resigned last November over a Panorama documentary that misrepresented Trump's comments. The BBC said earlier this month it had formally asked a US federal court in Florida to dismiss Trump's $10 billion lawsuit over the editing of a speech he gave to supporters ahead of the US Capitol riot in 2021. At the top of Brittin's immediate to-do list is the hiring of a new director of BBC News, after Deborah Turness stepped down alongside Davie in the wake of the Trump-Panorama controversy. The BBC also confirmed Brittin will appoint a deputy director-general.

The race to replace Davie had initially been led by three female executives: Apple TV Europe boss Jay Hunt, former BBC content boss Charlotte Moore, and former Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon. They all passed on the role. Brittin emerged as the frontrunner further down the line, and sources said his candidacy was strengthened by the paucity of other candidates.

His record includes one episode that will likely resurface in parliamentary scrutiny. On February 11, 2016, in response to the committee asking how much he earned, Brittin claimed he did not know how much he was paid, a response that was widely ridiculed. He was appearing before the Public Accounts Committee at the time to address a tax deal between HMRC and Google.

Brittin was made a CBE in the King's New Year Honours list earlier this year for his services to technology and the enhancement of digital skills. He updated his LinkedIn profile on Wednesday after the appointment was announced, writing "Got a job" and "Gap year: completed.