Tim Davie Long-time executive had been no stranger to controversy

Tim Davie has been one of the BBC's longestserving executives.

- Kyriakos Petrakos

After leaving his role as vice-president of marketing and franchise at PepsiCo, Davie became director of the BBC's marketing, communications and audiences division in 2005.

In 2008, he took on the role of director of the audio and music division, putting him in charge of a variety of radio stations including BBC Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4.

It was during this time that Davie led the plans to scrap BBC 6 Music and the Asian Network, saying the corporation had too many stations and needed to invest in “unique, high-quality radio”.

The BBC backed down on closing both stations after a huge public campaign.

In 2012, Davie became the chief executive of the corporation's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide. But in November of that year he stepped in to become acting director general of the BBC after the resignation of his predecessor, George Entwistle, amid the Jimmy Savile crisis.