BBC needs to be ‘rowing together and moving the boat faster’

The corporation’s newly appointed Director-General, former international rower Matt Brittin, says broadcasting behemoth ‘must change to adapt to the world around us’, as Mathilde Grandjean reports

- Mathilde Grandjean

THE BBC’s newly appointed Director-General has said the corporation faces a challenge to “move faster and change to adapt to the world around us”.

Matt Brittin, who succeeded Tim Davie in the role last month, spoke to the Press Association on Wednesday after receiving an award from the Prince of Wales during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

The 57-year-old was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to technology and to enhancing digital skills, having previously worked as an executive at Google for 18 years.

Before entering corporate life, Mr Brittin was also an elite rower, representing Team GB at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and winning a bronze medal at the 1989 World Rowing Championships.

Speaking about his new role at the BBC, he said: “There’s some things you can bring from sports into business, not everything - I think you can’t be so single-minded and focused - but from my sport, I learned a lot about team work.

“So what I try to bring is: get people to work together and move in the same direction.

“That’s something I really enjoyed doing at Google, and I’m only five weeks into the BBC, but what I found is brilliant people who are fantastic at the creativity.