BBC’s global aid charity names next CEO

BBC Media Action, the broadcaster’s international aid charity, has appointed former government advisor Simon Bishop to its top role.

He joins as chief executive next month replacing Caroline Nursey, who is retiring after 14 years in the post.

Bishop joins from charitable foundation The Power of Nutrition, where he has been chief executive since 2021.

He is also a former deputy chief executive officer of Plan International UK and spent just under three years from 2014 as special advisor to Justine Greening, then secretary of state for the department for international development.

In addition, he spent two years as a strategy advisor to The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation and is a trustee of the John Lewis and Partners Foundation.

He is also a former journalist working for the BBC as a reporter in Chicago.

At the charity, which has an annual income of £35m and focuses on using “the power of media and communication for good,” he will oversee programmes across 23 countries.

Simon Bishop (@SiBishop) will be the next CEO of BBC Media Action, following the retirement of Caroline Nursey OBE. He starts with us on 21 June.

👉 Read more in our press release: https://t.co/HhqAvdoEin
— BBC Media Action (@bbcmediaaction) May 16, 2023

“In a world of conflict, climate change, worsening inequality, fake news and disinformation, and where freedom and democracy are under enormous pressure, BBC Media Action’s work has never been more important,” said Bishop.

“Leading BBC Media Action is a unique opportunity for me to combine my passion for international development with media and communication for good, helping empower the lives of more than 100 million people a year around the world. That’s an incredibly exciting prospect. Twenty years ago, I was also a BBC journalist, so this also represents a ‘coming home’ for me.”

BBC Media Action chair Francesca Unsworth added: “His energy, drive, and depth and breadth of experience will serve the BBC’s international charity well as it continues to adapt in a fast-changing digital age, while continuing to reach and engage poor and marginalised communities with information they can trust.”