About Sky

Our Executive team

Jeremy Darroch
Deborah Baker
James Conyers
Mike Darcey
Barney Francis
Andrew Griffith

Didier Lebrat
Graham McWilliam
William Mellis
David Rowe
Sophie Turner Laing
Andrea Zappia

Jeremy Darroch

Chief Executive

Jeremy Darroch was appointed as a Director of the Company on 16 August 2004. He was appointed Chief Executive on 7 December 2007, having previously been Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since 2004. Prior to joining Sky, Jeremy was Group Finance Director of DSG International plc, formerly Dixons Group plc. Prior to DSG, he spent 12 years at Procter & Gamble in a variety of roles in the UK and Europe. Jeremy is a Non-Executive Director and the Chairman of the Audit Committee of Marks & Spencer plc. He is also a Board Member of the charity Youth Sport Trust and a Council Member of the Council for Industry and Higher Education.

Deborah Baker

Director for People

Deborah Baker joined Sky in December 2007 as Director for People. Prior to joining Sky Deborah was Senior Vice President, Human Resources Worldwide at Burberry plc, responsible for all HR issues across the group. She spent the early part of her career in roles at companies including Ford Motor Company, Schlumberger and Grand Metropolitan and went on to work in the retail, distribution and wholesale sectors, focusing particularly on turnaround situations.

James Conyers

General Counsel

James Conyers was appointed General Counsel in September 2005. He is responsible for all legal and regulatory affairs across the group. James joined Sky’s legal department in April 1993, becoming Deputy Head of Legal and Business Affairs in 1998 and Head of Legal and Business Affairs in 2005.

Mike Darcey

Chief Operating Officer

Mike Darcey was appointed Chief Operating Officer in November 2006. His responsibilities include product development across all platforms, group strategy and business development, TV and online advertising sales, the Sky Business division, relationships with third party channel providers and syndication of Sky content to other platforms. He sits on the boards of National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) and Nickelodeon UK and is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Television Society. Mike is also a Non-Executive Director of Home Retail Group plc. Prior to joining Sky in 1998, Mike was an economic advisor for 11 years, working across a wide range of industries with a particular focus on entertainment and telecommunications.

Barney Francis

Managing Director, Sky Sports

Barney Francis was appointed Managing Director, Sky Sports in July 2009. He is responsible for Sky Sports output across five core sports channels, four HD channels, Sky Sports News HD (launching summer 2010), as well as online and mobile content. Barney has worked in television for 17 years in the terrestrial, multi-channel and independent production sectors. He joined Sky in 1999, and has since produced a range of live coverage, support programming and sports news content. As Sky’s executive producer for cricket for six years he was responsible for Sky’s first exclusively live coverage of England’s domestic Tests, before moving on to Premier League and UEFA Champions League production.

Andrew Griffith

Chief Financial Officer

Andrew Griffith was appointed as CFO and a Director of the Company on 7 April 2008. Andrew joined Sky in October 1999 and held a number of finance roles prior to his appointment as CFO. Andrew previously worked at the investment bank Rothschild, where he advised a range of clients in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors. Andrew is a member of the 100 Group of Finance Directors and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Didier Lebrat

Chief Technology Officer

Didier Lebrat joined Sky in December 2006 as Chief Technology Officer. In this role, he leads the technical strategy, development and operations for broadcast, IT, internet and network platforms. Before joining Sky, Didier was Chief Technology Officer at Vodafone Italy, and before that CTO at Orange UK.

Graham McWilliam

Group Director of Corporate Affairs

Graham McWilliam was appointed Group Director of Corporate Affairs in March 2008. He is responsible for Corporate Communications, Consumer and Content PR, Internal Communications, Policy & Public Affairs, and Sky’s Bigger Picture programme. He sits on the board of the Sky Pro Cycling team. Graham was previously Director of Corporate Communications and Policy, and before that Deputy Head of Strategy. He joined Sky in April 2000 from the BBC where he was Head of Television Strategy.

William Mellis

Group Director, Business Performance

William Mellis was appointed Group Director of Business Performance in June 2009. He is responsible for delivery of major cross-functional projects in support of Sky’s long-term growth and performance. Previously, William was Deputy Managing Director, Customer Group, with responsibility for customer acquisition and retention. Prior to joining Sky in 2004, he was Vice President at Cap Gemini, having spent 18 years as a consultant working with a wide variety of public and private sector organisations.

David Rowe

Managing Director, Enterprise

David Rowe was appointed Managing Director, Enterprise in January 2007. David is responsible for Sky’s business-to-business telecoms service, as well as the Sky Bet division. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of Easynet Group plc until it became part of Sky in 2007.

Sophie Turner Laing

Managing Director, Entertainment and News

Sophie Turner Laing was appointed Managing Director, Entertainment and News in March 2007. She has overall responsibility for Sky’s portfolio of entertainment and news channels including Sky1, Sky News, Sky Arts, Sky Real Lives, Sky Movies and Sky Box Office, as well as Broadcast Operations, Network Planning and the Sky Creative Agency. Prior to joining Sky in March 2003, Sophie held a number of senior roles at the BBC and Flextech, after beginning her television career at Henson International Television.

Andrea Zappia

Managing Director, Customer Group

Andrea joined Sky in February 2010 as Managing Director, Customer Group. He leads Sky’s marketing, sales and customer operations teams, with responsibility for customer acquisition and retention across the company’s range of entertainment and communications products. Before joining Sky, Andrea was Vice President, Sport Channels at Sky Italia, having previously been Vice President, Marketing, Promotion and Business Development. Prior to joining Sky Italia in 2003, Andrea held a variety of senior marketing roles at Fila, Ferrari and Procter & Gamble.

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