May 16, 2022 After a "relentless" eight years as the chief executive of budget airline EasyJet, Carolyn McCall got a call about potentially leading Britain's largest commercial public. Weve announced the deal, were now implementing it and then just ensuring that our creative talent and our programming remains as strong as it is today. Change is happening on screen too. The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it - I feel that is a really appropriate quote. Carolyn McCall was a non-executive board member of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) from 2017 to 2020. "The number of emails we got shocking." ITV stood firm in the face of. You are trying to blend people. I think hiring is one of the most difficult things you can do at any level because talent is everything and you want to get the best people whatever role you're in at management level. The interviewing tells you only so much, no matter how thorough you are. The chief executive of ITV said Jeremy Clarkson's comments about the Duchess of Sussex "do not wash over" and negatively impact the brand. Hi Steve, it's a pleasure, really glad you enjoyed the article. I'm at ITV now and I feel very proud of the creative output and the impact we have on society and culture. Great read, inspiring leader. Rawcliffe had been head of diversity within ITVs commissioning business. I had hardly any experience, so they were cutting costs and I thought that was wrong and if that's what teaching was going to be about, then I didnt want to pursue it. [24] She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to the aviation industry. Thats all our daytime programming from 6:00 in the morning, all the way through to when the quiz shows finish early evening. I think everyone agrees with the concept and that most sensible and good employers will want to be able to give flexibility to its employees. At EasyJet, I set up a women's network and encouraged a LGBT network. [8] She was said to prefer a "pragmatic approach to human resources rather than politically correct niceties". There are some things that have to be command and control. I then did my masters degree in politics and worked at Costain whilst I was completing my studies. She then gained a master's degree in politics from the University of London, and subsequently joined construction group Costain. [19] In April 2020, McCall along with other senior executives took a 20% pay cut in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Dance troupe Diversity took to the stage during the semi-finals of Britains Got Talent last year for a special performance narrating one of the most difficult years in decades. Some viewers were horrified. This pipeline plan was a really good goal; one in five new entrants coming in will be women, which is fabulous. Thats why we did what we did with Diversity.. Carolyn McCall: From airline to airwaves - BBC News Off screen, I believe we do well in certain areas and we are working hard on other areas. I think I flourished in a meritocracy. Rawcliffe was kind of double promoted, McCall said, and the ITV boss worried about how the move might be seen externally. If you say to people: 'look, there is an issue here', many people dont see the issue. Turbulent takeoff for easyJet's new boss - the Guardian Ofcom, Britains broadcasting regulator, received 24,500 complaints from viewers. This thing about positive action has been quite a big galvaniser internally.. [10], During McCall's tenure at EasyJet, the airline's shares almost quadrupled,[11] and McCall arranged for the airline to "snatch up pieces" of Air Berlin and Alitalia. Where do you think we are now with flexible working? When youve got mobile technology or technology to make your life quicker, more productive, more efficient then you can do more remotely, you can do more while youre travelling, you can do more on your commute. "Actually that was something that was seen and got a massive discussion going and thats what were there to do to push the conversation forward, even if its not very comfortable. She traces it back to her own experience being a senior woman in the clubby male world of business. Despite soaring revenue in the first half of this year, Carolyn McCall, chief executive of U.K. broadcaster ITV is taking a cautious approach. I remember coming out that room thinking this is amazing. easyJet was a complete turnaround and it became a customer facing airline which won awards for being customer centric. Carolyn McCall says she has acquired 'about five years' experience in eight months' in her new role as easyJet chief executive. This is Money is part of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday & Metro media group, I have always been very organised but now I am hyper-organised as a result of having a family. I think everyone agrees with the concept and that most sensible and good employers will want to be able to give flexibility to its employees. Weve got a lot to deliver while were also dealing with all the Brexit issues and the economic issues that come out of that. Carolyn McCall: I had turbulence at easyJet, but ITV is set to fly Biotech shares are in the doldrums and that gives investors an opportunity: International Biotechnology Trust's Ailsa Craig, Blue Whale's Stephen Yiu: Why I ditched Facebook for better and more reliable growth opportunities. Train fares will rise by 5.9% TOMORROW - but travellers City watchdog launches enforcement probe into London IMI revenues exceed 2bn as FTSE 250 manufacturer is Norway's Equinor doubles stake in major untapped North Ruth Sunderland, Associate City Editor For The Daily Mail, > Compare the best investing platform for you, Temple Bar's Ian Lance: The UK stock market is cheap and looks as interesting as in 2008. She said, yes its a good thing. By Ruth Sunderland, Associate City Editor For The Daily Mail, Published: 20:52 GMT, 17 July 2017 | Updated: 09:53 GMT, 18 July 2017, Dame Carolyn McCall was yesterday named as the new chief executive of ITV. One thing I know for sure is that if you don't bring people with you and they're not aligned about strategy then actually they just go off and do their own thing. I can use that as an example of when it works but if you dont have certain elements in place it can cause quite a lot of issues, so its got to be thought through, its worked through in detail to be effective. You never could unless you're in the armed forces where command and control works. When I get asked to do speeches and especially when I have been asked to do speeches to women who are rising in their careers and they want top tips, then I look at something I did for WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications, London) 20 something years ago and what I said there was use every piece of technology you can, to find the balance in your life so that all the juggling becomes easier. Carolyn was appointed as the Chief Executive of easyJet in 2010 (one of five female CEOs of a FTSE 100 Index company) and during her tenure, the airline's shares almost quadrupled. It was a big moment selling 50 percent of it and having a 800 million in the bank. We need to represent the diversity of the people who are viewing it. Although her pay fell to 1.5 million in 2016, from 6.2 million the previous year, she has earned around 30 million since she joined in 2010. Weve also got a large studios business that sells content right around the world not just to ITV and we are growing that. I've always thought HR is about people and about talent, learning, development, recruitment, retention succession. It was a complex business to get right, so I feel very proud of my easyJet years and my team there. Its the way you can hear whats actually going on on the ground, she said. I realised that wed cracked the operational issues when I got an email at Easter. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. I don't think I knew but I was brought up abroad and there was a program on TV called Police Woman with Angie Dickinson and I remember thinking I want to do something like that, because she was really strong and dynamic. She believes, however, that most working women still earn less than men. The pilots were up in arms. After some months, I received an e-mail from an Irish pilot based at Charles de Gaulle airport. Its about speaking in order to learn and understand, rather than speaking without thinking, she said. Only because I was thinking: people are going to think this is tokenism. . Policemen in riot gear circled the dancers as they moved through mock teargas and, mid-way through the four-minute performance, Diversity knelt with their fists in the air the symbol of protest that has become synonymous with Black Lives Matter. I think the awareness has increased but I think the how is still quite hard for a lot of people. It works brilliantly, but it does so because they both know ITV really well, they both know each other really well and they also work brilliantly together. Ive got three kids and they roll their eyes when I say it to them as I say it so often. Although we possess proven experience in global corporations, we are proud to be a small to medium sized enterprise. During her tenure the Manchester Evening News and regionally based business were sold to Trinity Mirror, and a 49.9% stake in Trader Media Group was sold to Apax Partners, in a deal that valued the business at 1.35bn. In her later days at the firm, she came under fire for her own generous pay whilst staffers were forced to don hair shirts. We got all the pilots on board and all the male pilots were actually amazing about it, really supportive. What is really good is they do speak really openly about things.. Carolyn McCall | Business | The Guardian Jeremy Clarkson Column Has Not Impacted ITV Brand, Says CEO Carolyn McCall I'd rather be accessible and make time for people because I think you get much more out of that. [20], McCall serves as a non-executive board member in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Dame Carolyn McCall, DBE who is married to Peter and has three children, became the first female Chief Executive of ITV in January 2018. We are therefore doing quite well on screen. I remember being at my newcomers lunch at The Guardian and Peter Preston who was the then editor had a long conversation with me about why we didnt have a Sunday newspaper at the time, that was 1986 and it was a really good conversation. Ill never forget merging The Observer and The Guardian and also when I sold Auto Trader to Apax and got a load of money for the Guardian. One of McCalls first acts when she arrived at ITV in 2018 was to set up a diversity and inclusion council, copying a successful strategy she had used at EasyJet. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence. ITV stood firm in the face of the criticism and issued a statement in solidarity with Diversity and the Black Lives Matter movement. For many people working in TV, the only opportunity they have had to observe Carolyn McCall has been at The Guardian's annual post-MacTaggart lecture dinners, held at the . [3] She previously served as the chief executive of easyJet from 2010 to 2017. They ranged from claims it wasnt appropriate for family viewing to arguing broadcaster ITV was unfairly promoting a political organisation. A policeman mock kneeled on Banjos back, echoing the murder of George Floyd. Personable, calm and friendly, she was born in Bangalore, India, and was educated in India and Singapore, followed by a Catholic boarding school in the UK. QVC Hosts Carolyn Gracie and Dan Hughes Bid Farewell to the Shopping Two QVC hosts who have been familiar faces to viewers for decades are leaving the shopping network.. Carolyn Gracie announced her time at the network had ended after 19 years of hosting . It is already the largest global producer of unscripted (entertainment) programmes. P.S. By Rebecca Marston. I think the principle is a good one. I do think flexibility has to be both ways. When Carolyn McCall announced that she was moving from the Guardian Media Group to become chief executive of EasyJet, rival Ryanair's Michael O'Leary dismissed her as a media . With her arrival at the broadcaster, McCall becomes the second woman to lead a major TV network after Alex Mahon was made Channel 4 boss last month. ITV CEO Carolyn McCall Takes 64% Pay Cut During Covid Crisis - Deadline You want to be able to just have the process and policy as a hygiene factor as its actually about people. Nationwide hikes cost of home loans just weeks after cutting them, as swap rates start to rise, Will spray foam insulation make your property hard to sell or mortgage? Looking forward to your next one! Famous Seamus Boyle view isle of Arran whisky distillery Scotland 2014 the banner newspapers story, I start work 31 December wanted on wild good payment in utv hight office in Belfast, See itv show on LinkedIn live year down line, I 53 year old man shareholders itv utv.wanted hight office pint in Belfast utv office.bros farmers.none into farmers.pass 30 year self appointed caretaker of slieveanorra forestry none payment work .buy forestry services ni . Yes, well, do you ask Willie Walsh [the former chief executive of British Airways-owner IAG] that? [22], In February 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. Thats really the last thing if you knew Kevin Lygo [director of TV at ITV], youd really understand that too neither of us want that. She studied history and politics at the University of Kent and began training as a teacher, but a life at the chalk-face had limited appeal. Thats not an excuse anymore.. I start my day very early, but I've also been able to drop my kids off at school. Her appointment to one of the most important jobs in TV, coinciding as it does with the unveiling of the first female Doctor Who, is either a triumph for equality or an outrageous assault on the natural order of male supremacy, depending on your viewpoint. My team were just extraordinary, they were a brilliant top team. During 2019 she is undertaking a series of interviews with Business Leaders who have innovated within their field of expertise and have warranted the description of being an inspiring leader. In response, the company launched a diversity and inclusion acceleration plan last July. This has been easyJet's headquarters at London Luton Airport in Bedfordshire since 1995. Borrowing on cars balloons to record levels: Some 41BILLION was locked up in motor finance last year - is this a worry during a cost-of-living squeeze? I had hardly any experience, so they were cutting costs and I thought that was wrong and if thats what teaching was going to be about, then I didnt want to pursue it. We've also got a large studios business that sells content right around the world not just to ITV and we are growing that. That means I have to get around and about a lot and have to see it all happening, so that for me is critical. Her promotion made ITV the first FTSE 100 (^FTSE) company with a dedicated diversity director on its board. [Rawcliffe] and the team have been really good on that and the feedback has been really good because it increases peoples confidence about talking about issues to do with race. Jeremy Clarkson's "awful" comments about Meghan Markle have had "no washover onto the ITV brand," according to CEO Carolyn McCall. How would you describe your leadership style? We've announced the deal, we're now implementing it and then just ensuring that our creative talent and our programming remains as strong as it is today. Dismissed as a media luvvie by Ryanairs Michael OLeary when she arrived, she restored staff morale, delivered four successive years of record profits, and piloted EasyJet into the FTSE 100 index. What were your career aspirations when you were younger? I had regularly read the Guardian, so I couldn't believe that he was the editor and I was a 24-year-old planner. Millions of ITV viewers watched as troupe leader Ashley Banjo told his future child the story of 2020. There is loads more work to do. ITV publicly committed to improving minority representation both on screen and within its organisation and to do so faster than had been planned. You need stamina. Its the way you can hear whats actually going on on the ground, she said. Examples include Andi Peters standing in for morning host Lorraine Kelly, Allison Hammond hosting This Morning, and Ian Wright hosting Moneyball. However, in terms of general leadership, then in my view youve got to listen to people, find out what they think about where they work, what they do, how they do it, find out about their customers, the viewers, the passengers whatever it might be. Job: chief executive, Guardian Media GroupAge: 47Industry: publishing, broadcasting, digital mediaTurnover: 502.1mStaff: 4,314Salary: 498,000 (inc benefits) (2008 . [15] The company appointed Johan Lundgren, then deputy chief executive of TUI Group, as her successor. [14], McCall left EasyJet with a 5 million payment. Her 2019 base salary was set to increase by 2.5 per cent "in line with the wider employee group". ITV boss Carolyn McCall warns of plunging ad revenues but says Jeremy This was just nine months in and I thought okay theres still quite a lot to do but were on our way, because when the pilots tell you things are getting better than you really know they are. They were offering rubbish teachers like me a job. Close to one in five shows on ITV last year featured lead characters from Black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds. Project Mondo G is a Mercedes G-Wagen in a puffer jacket, New Honda's Civic: family car with rebellious bad boy in its line-up, Advert for the 1998 first generation of the Audi TT, Ford scrapping 1,300 jobs in UK amid European overhaul. What is really good is they do speak really openly about things.. The pilots were up in arms. However, you can find that some individuals in HR are so focused on process and policy that they lose sight of what you're trying to do. My very first job was actually teaching. I do all my phone calls, do all my emails before I even walk in the door of the office. Her reign coincided with some decisions that turned out to be disastrous, including spending 80 million on printing presses when the paper moved to the Berliner format. What's your approach to interviewing and hiring? Ad revenue . If I know people who theyve worked with, I will sometimes ask what would X say about you. Adjusted profit before tax for the year fell 13 percent to 672 million . [9] McCall became one of five female CEOs of a FTSE 100 Index company. Do you think it would take government legislation to assist women to return after maternity? Some claimed the performance was racist to white people. If you dont have someone with that experience sitting around your management board, you dont really understand whether you are changing fast enough or whether you are doing the right things to make change, McCall said. I started in July 2010 and it was in meltdown everywhere - operationally, customers, all the people. Read more: The EMpower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executive Role Models 2021. Linda had the pleasure of working with Dame Carolyn McCall during her 14 years with Guardian Media Group. Her appointment as boss of EasyJet in 2010 was greeted with incredulity by some, ostensibly because of her lack of aviation experience. Do you think workplace diversity has now become embedded or is there still a lot more work to do? I think it is probably the single most difficult and actually one of the most critical things that anyone in business or work has to do; but especially when youre a CEO and youre putting together a top team. And Tesco (2005-2008), a position from which she resigned after Tesco sued The Guardian for libel. I do think flexibility has to be both ways. If I go back to the Guardian days, I think about launching the Guardian web sites in 1996, which came on the back of launching Wired magazine in the U.K; that was massive. Work was already underway to address these issues when the Black Lives Matter movement swept the world. If you dont want to spend time with the people you recruit, then why should anyone else want to. We had to do lots of things from scratch because it wasn't even really on the radar there in 2010. Its by Michelangelo and its still very relevant to us, my generation but also to the generation that my children belong to. At a dinner she attended shortly after she was hired, a male speaker made a quip about doors-to-manual, Carolyn from the stage. Read more: The EMpower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Future Leaders 2021, I dont even know that that means, Im not being funny, I dont actually know what that means, McCall said when asked how it felt to be a leading diversity and inclusion advocate. I will also get other people involved in the process for the cultural fit. The council features representatives from ITVs employee resource groups for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic employees, disabled employees, and women, among others. Only because I was thinking: people are going to think this is tokenism. When it came to the crunch, we thought: we dont want to be virtue signalling, McCall said. Rawcliffe was kind of double promoted, McCall said, and the ITV boss worried about how the move might be seen externally. You are trying to blend people.